We've already tried EpCAM, ASGPR, CK-18 and Albumin. They were all positive in healthy blood making them useless. AFP showed great results but we need a second one to increase specifity.
There was a study published in Cancer Cell 2009 from Heikenwalder group showing lymphotoxins (LTa, LTb, LTR) in mouse model and human HCC. In my experience in another mouse model, it seems they are highly associated in the development of HCC. Unless you search for mutations, it would be worth to compare the marker expression with data in healthy subjects. I hope this help you. To answer your question more properly, I need more information about your study subject.
Dear Jae-Hwi thank you for taking the time to answer my question. We´re working with CTCs detection in HCC patients using different methods, one of them being qPCR. The only primer giving good results so far is AFP and we were hoping to find another one with similar results to use alongside AFP to increase the specifity of this approach. Would lymphotoxins remain negative in samples from hepatitis patients and healthy volunteers?
Dear Dr. Kostantin, you could try glypican 3 which stains positive in HCC but not normal liver or cirrhosis. Let me know how it workes.
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