The expression of SALL4 in yolk sac tumors in children

Abstract

Objective To study the expression of SALL4 in yolk sac tumors (YST) in children.Methods Twenty one patients were diagnosed with yolk sac tumor and treated in the children's hospital of Chongqing medical university. Their tumor tissue specimens including 8 puncture biopsy specimens were collected for this study. In addition, 10 cases of mature teratoma (MT), 5 cases of immature teratoma (IMT). 1 dysgerminoma were collected as control The expressions of SALL4 in YST,MT, IMT and dysgerminoma were studied by SP immunohistochemical method. Alpha fetoprotein 21 patients. Among them, the expression of SALL4 in YST was strong ( + + ) in 6 patients, and very It is negative in 2 cases, detectable in 5, strong in 9, and very strong in 5. The expression of SALL4 expression of SALL4 was strong ( + + ) in 3 cases, and very strong ( + + + ) in 5 cases. The staining of AFP was negative in 1 case ( - ), detectable in 2 ( + ), strong in 4 ( + + ) and very strong in 1 ( ++ + ). A significant difference was found between SALL4 and AFP expression in these specimens (P＜0. 05). Conclusions SALL4 could be a new relatively sensitive tumor marker for YST. The expression of SALL4 is stronger than AFP in YST. But their expression doesn't correlate with each other.Immunohistochemical staining of SALL4 could be helpful to diagnose YST in children, especially in the small amount specimens. Key words: Yolk sac tumor; SALL4; Alpha-fetoproteins; Immunohistochemistry