Fusion DNAJB1::PRKACA in Non-Fibrolamellar Cancer Cases. Reply to Arif et al. 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 Pediat
Arif and colleagues commented on our paper Fleifil et al. "DNAJB1-PKAc is expressed in Young Patients with Pediatric Liver Cancers and Enhances Carcinogenic Pathways" published in Cancers in 2024. In our paper, we examined expression of <i>DNAJB1::PRKACA</i> (DNAJB1-PKAc or J-PKAc) in the Bio Bank of HBL (Hepatoblastoma) and HCN-NOS (Hepatocellular Malignant Neoplasm, Not Otherwise Specified) tissue samples collected at CCHMC during the last five years. Our data demonstrated that <i>DNAJB1::PRKACA</i> was detected in approximately 70% of HBL/HCN-NOS patients, with varying expression levels. In the commentary, the authors reviewed their earlier data and found no evidence of the fusion DNAJB1-PKAc expression within their cohorts of HBL specimens. Based on these data, the authors stated that "…<i>DNAJB1::PRKACA</i> remains specific to fibrolamellar carcinoma among liver tumors and caution against its use as a diagnostic marker for hepatoblastoma without rigorous validation in external cohorts." After reviewing the commentary, we are offering a response outlined below.
Authors
- Alexander Gerhard Miethke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1395-9475)
- Yasmeen Fleifil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2313-6213)
- Rebekah Karns (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9720-4039)
- Ruhi Gulati (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6194-9805)
- Nikolai A. Timchenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4827-8274)
- Lubov Timchenko
- Gregory Tiao
- Katherine Jennings
- Alexander Bondoc
Institutions
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- University of Cincinnati Medical Center (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cancers
- Published
- 2026-03-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18060918
- Primary Topic
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institutes of Health