Effects of chemotherapeutic agents on alpha-fetoprotein secretion and growth of human hepatoma cell lines in vitro.

The effects of various chemotherapeutic agents on alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) secretion and growth of human hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatoblastoma cell lines were investigated in vitro. It was found that there was a high correlation between hepatoma cell number and AFP secretion after treatment and that the amount of AFP secreted per cell per 72 h was not affected with therapeutically achievable concentrations. These results suggest that serum AFP level in patients with hepatomas does not correlate with the size of whole tumour but with that of viable tumour mass, and that AFP-secreting capacity of tumour cells in the mass is kept unchanged after chemotherapy.