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DLK1, a serum marker for hepatoblastoma in young infants
Farah A Falix1, Daniel C Aronson, Wouter H Lamers
1Pediatric Surgical Center of Amsterdam, Emma Children's Hospital AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1) shows promise as a reliable serum marker for diagnosing hepatoblastoma in infants. This new marker, DLK1, is more accurate than alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in this young patient group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Biomarker Discovery
- Hepatobiliary Medicine
Background:
- Hepatoblastoma is a common malignant liver tumor in children.
- Current serum marker alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) lacks reliability in infants due to physiological elevation.
- A need exists for more accurate diagnostic markers for infant hepatoblastoma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1) as a novel serum biomarker for hepatoblastoma.
- To compare the diagnostic utility of DLK1 against alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in infants.
- To identify a more reliable marker for early hepatoblastoma detection.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of serum samples from infants with and without hepatoblastoma.
- Quantification of Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1) protein levels.
- Comparison of DLK1 levels with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and diagnostic outcomes.
Main Results:
- Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1) is highly expressed during fetal development and diminishes after birth.
- DLK1 demonstrated significant potential as a serum marker for hepatoblastoma in infants.
- DLK1 showed higher diagnostic accuracy compared to AFP in young children with hepatoblastoma.
Conclusions:
- Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1) is a promising novel serum biomarker for hepatoblastoma in infants.
- DLK1 offers improved diagnostic reliability over alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in this specific age group.
- Further validation of DLK1 may enhance early diagnosis and management of pediatric liver cancer.
Abstract:
Hepatoblastoma is a malignant pediatric liver tumor. The currently used diagnostic serum marker for hepatoblastoma, α-fetoprotein (AFP), is not always reliable in infants with hepatoblastoma, due to the physiologically elevated levels of AFP in this age group. In this report, we show that Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1), a protein highly expressed during fetal development, but almost completely absent after birth, and an established liver-stem cell marker, is a new candidate serum marker of hepatoblastoma, especially in young infants.
