Participants
Thirty children diagnosed with hepatoblastoma were enrolled in this
study, which was performed at the Institute of Biosciences, University
of São Paulo, Brazil. Patients were recruited from five different
Brazilian institutions, most of them (n=27) from three large pediatric
cancer centers of the city of São Paulo, namely, the A. C. Camargo
Cancer Center, Adolescent and Child with Cancer Support Group (GRAACC),
and Pediatric Cancer Institute (ITACI). In addition, three patients were
recruited from other institutions, including the Hospital da Baleia
(n=1), Hospital da Criança Conceição (n=1), and Hospital São Lucas
(n=1). This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the
Institute of Biosciences (CAAE: 09163818.4.0000.5464). After signed
informed consent was obtained from the parents, peripheral blood samples
were collected from 28 patients, and normal liver tissues were recovered
from two patients. Genomic samples were also collected from 27 available
parents (19 patients).