Glypican 3 as a Serum Marker for Hepatoblastoma

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common primary liver cancer in children. The conventional serum marker for HB, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), has its limitations. Novel serum markers need to be explored. Glypican 3 (GPC3) has been reported to be an excellent histological immunomarker for HB. However, the clinical value of serum GPC3 in patients with HB is unknown. A total of 184 serum samples were tested for both GPC3 by ELISA, and AFP by immunometric assay. Of these, 134 were from 32 patients with HB at three treatment stages, 30 from age-matched patients with benign hepatobiliary disorders (BHD) and 20 from age-matched "normal controls"(NC). We found that the GPC3 levels in HB pretreatment group were significantly higher than those in NC group and HB remission group but not statistically different from those in BHD group and HB during treatment group. In contrast, AFP showed significant differences among different groups. The areas under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) value, sensitivity and specificity of GPC3 for HB pretreatment group versus all controls were all significantly lower than those of AFP. Serum GPC3 levels were not associated with prognostic parameters. We concluded that GPC3 is inferior to AFP as a serum marker for HB.