V. Cocquyt et al., INCREASING SERUM LEVELS OF ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN IN A PATIENT WITH RELAPSING GALLBLADDER CARCINOMA, American journal of clinical oncology, 19(5), 1996, pp. 465-468
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a useful serum tumor marker especially for
hepatocellular carcinoma and yolk-sac tumor. Increased serum levels of
AFP have also been found in adenocarcinoma of the stomach, the pancre
as, the colon and the lung, and in some squamous cell carcinomas of th
e lung. We describe a patient with a recurrent gallbladder carcinoma,
presenting with increasing serum levels of AFP as the tumor progresses
. Remarkable are the histologic changes in the metastases of the tumor
, which showed more dedifferentiation as the number of cells containin
g AFP increased.