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Review
. 2020 Oct;146(10):2439-2446.
doi: 10.1007/s00432-020-03331-6. Epub 2020 Jul 28.

Effects of alpha-fetoprotein on the occurrence and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma

Yifei Zheng  1 , Mingyue Zhu  2 , Mengsen Li  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Effects of alpha-fetoprotein on the occurrence and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma

Yifei Zheng et al. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is considered as a diagnostic and prognostic tumorous marker for HCC, and up to 70% of HCC patients showed elevated serum levels of AFP. In the past two decades, evidences have shown that AFP not only is a tumorous biomarker for diagnosing HCC, but also plays a very complicated role in regulating proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy and inhibiting the immune response of cells. Because AFP is significantly elevated during hepatocarcinogenesis, the role of AFP in the development of HCC is a scientific problem worthy of further exploration. In this review, we reviewed the effects of AFP on hepatocyte malignant transformation and the underlying mechanisms involved in the progression of HCC.

Keywords: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP); Hepatocellular carcinoma; Malignant transformation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors confirm that this article content has no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic diagram of the mechanism by which AFP promotes the occurrence of HCC
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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