An AFP‐producing gastric carcinoma with features of hepatic differentiation. A case report

A patient with primary gastric adenocarcinoma with extremely high serum alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) levels (12,000 ng/ml) is described. Histologically, foci strongly resembling hepatocellular carcinoma with hyaline globules were noted. Within tumor cells, AFP was identified with both light and electron...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer 1985-08, Vol.56 (4), p.840-848
Main Authors: Ishikura, Hiroshi, Fukasawa, Yuichiro, Ogasawara, Kazuhiro, Natori, Takashi, Tsukada, Yutaka, Aizawa, Miki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adenocarcinoma - metabolism
Adenocarcinoma - pathology
Adenocarcinoma - ultrastructure
alpha-Fetoproteins - biosynthesis
alpha-Fetoproteins - blood
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Differentiation
Concanavalin A - metabolism
Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen
Humans
Immunoenzyme Techniques
Male
Medical sciences
Microscopy, Electron
Middle Aged
Stomach Neoplasms - metabolism
Stomach Neoplasms - pathology
Stomach Neoplasms - ultrastructure
Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus
Tumors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A patient with primary gastric adenocarcinoma with extremely high serum alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) levels (12,000 ng/ml) is described. Histologically, foci strongly resembling hepatocellular carcinoma with hyaline globules were noted. Within tumor cells, AFP was identified with both light and electron microscopy, showing the production of AFP by tumor cells themselves. Furthermore, 88% of serum AFP combined with Concanavalin A (ConA), revealing that it was hepatic‐type AFP and not germcell‐type. Localization of alpha‐I‐antitrypsin within tumor cells was also noted. Ultrastructural study showed that there were two types of structures corresponding to periodic acid‐Schiff (PAS)‐positive globules, one of which, the proteinaceous material in intracytoplasmic lumina, was found to contain AFP. Among gastric adenocarcinomas with a high serum AFP level (several thousand or more ng/ml of AFP), foci resembling hepatocellular carcinomas have been reported by several investigators. Those gastric carcinomas, together with the current case, may constitute a clinicopathologic entity, hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach.
ISSN:0008-543X
1097-0142
DOI:10.1002/1097-0142(19850815)56:4<840::AID-CNCR2820560423>3.0.CO;2-E