High alpha-fetoprotein

Many people don’t know what alpha-fetoprotein is, so let me introduce it to you first. Alpha-fetoprotein is a glycoprotein in the human body, which is mainly found in the liver. Some newborn babies also have high alpha-fetoprotein levels. In addition to this, alpha-fetoprotein can also be used as a diagnosis and treatment for liver cancer. If the alpha-fetoprotein level is high, it does not necessarily mean that you have a disease.

Generally speaking, we cannot assume that high alpha-fetoprotein levels are a definite indicator of liver cancer; only more tests can confirm it. For adults, high levels of alpha-fetoprotein are an abnormal condition and should be checked in a regular hospital in time.

Alpha-fetoprotein is a glycoprotein in the human body. AFP is the abbreviation of alpha-fetoprotein. Under normal circumstances, the liver cells of the embryo contain a large amount of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which disappears from the blood about two weeks after the fetus is born. Therefore, the content of alpha-fetoprotein in normal human serum is less than 20μg/L. However, when liver cells become cancerous, they regain the ability to produce alpha-fetoprotein, and as the disease worsens, the level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the serum increases dramatically. AFP becomes an important indicator for diagnosing primary liver cancer.

1. About 80% of liver cancer patients have elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in their serum. Alpha-fetoprotein increases 8 months before the onset of liver cancer symptoms. At this time, most liver cancer patients still have no obvious symptoms and their tumors are relatively small. The prognosis of these patients can be significantly improved after surgical treatment.

2. Pregnant women and newborns may also experience a temporary increase in alpha-fetoprotein, which is a normal plasma protein component of the fetus. The alpha-fetoprotein level in pregnant women will increase significantly and gradually return to normal levels 3 weeks after delivery.

3. Other reasons. Liver damage, congestive hepatomegaly, telangiectasia, congenital tyrosinosis, testicular or ovarian embryonic tumors (such as seminoma, malignant teratoma, ovarian cancer, etc.) are also often associated with elevated alpha-fetoprotein.

Does elevated alpha-fetoprotein mean liver cancer?

AFP can be considered a tumor signal, which means that liver cancer may have developed in the liver. Regarding the relationship between alpha-fetoprotein and liver cancer, alpha-fetoprotein can actually be used as an indicator for testing liver cancer. However, there is no absolute relationship between the level of alpha-fetoprotein and the size of liver cancer. There are two points to note about the relationship between alpha-fetoprotein and liver cancer:

First, about one-third of small liver cancers will not have elevated AFP, so normal AFP does not mean that there is no liver cancer.

Second, hepatitis itself can cause a slight increase in alpha-fetoprotein. The increase in alpha-fetoprotein caused by hepatitis indicates that the damaged liver is regenerating, not that liver cancer has occurred. This increase in alpha-fetoprotein caused by hepatitis usually has a value below 400 (of course there are exceptions). It should be noted that when alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase decrease, if alpha-fetoprotein does not decrease accordingly, the possibility of liver cancer must be considered. In addition, the alpha-fetoprotein level in the blood of pregnant women will also be higher.

The above is an introduction to some knowledge about high alpha-fetoprotein. I hope it will be helpful to more people. Everyone should know more about abnormal conditions in the body, so that there will be more guarantees for the health of the body. If you feel any discomfort in your body, you should seek medical attention immediately and do not delay treatment.