Global Re-Analysis Confirms Absence of the DNAJB1::PRKACA Fusion in Hepatoblastoma. Comment on Fleifil et al. DNAJB1-PKAc Kinase Is Expressed in Young Patients with Pediatric Liver Cancers and Enhances Carcinogenic Pathways. Cancers 2025, 17, 83

Cancers 2026 Open access

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Authors: Waqar Arif, Sanford M. Simon, Allison Fa. O’Neill, Juan Putra, Dolores H. López Terrada, Mark Yarchoan, Jessica Zucman-Rossi, Théo Hirsch
DOI: 10.3390/cancers18050877
Cited by: 3
References: 16

Abstract

Fleifil et al. recently reported the DNAJB1::PRKACA fusion in 70% of hepatoblastomas (HB), suggesting its diagnostic relevance beyond fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC). Here, an international consortium re-examined this claim using 225 independent assays across 148 HB samples from five institutions. We found no evidence of the DNAJB1::PRKACA fusion in any HB case, in contrast to 286/290 FLC samples. These findings demonstrate that the fusion remains specific to FLC and underscore the need for rigorous validation before clinical interpretation of molecular findings in pediatric liver tumors.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis Liver physiology and pathology Cancer-related Molecular Pathways

Publication details

Journal / source
Cancers
Publisher
MDPI AG
Volume
18
Issue
5
Pages
877–877
Publication date
9 March 2026
Language
EN