What does alpha-fetoprotein mean?

What does alpha-fetoprotein mean? Many friends will have this question when they first learn about alpha-fetoprotein, because we do not usually come into contact with this protein element. In fact, it is the liver cell tissue of the embryo, and the alpha-fetoprotein in the fetus will disappear about 14 days after birth. Therefore, for healthy people, the alpha-fetoprotein content is very low and basically will not exceed 20 micrograms/liter.

Therefore, if your alpha-fetoprotein level exceeds this level, please be careful, because if its value is too high, it may be related to liver cancer, so it should not be ignored. Especially for patients with liver disease, it is important to pay attention to preventing increased alpha-fetoprotein.

Alpha-fetoprotein[1] (α-fetoprotein, αFP or AFP) is mainly synthesized in the fetal liver, with a molecular weight of 69,000. At 13 weeks of fetal development, AFP accounts for 1/3 of the total plasma protein. It reaches its peak at 30 weeks of gestation and then gradually decreases. The plasma concentration at birth is about 1% of the peak, about 40 mg/L, and is close to the adult level (less than 30 μg/L) at one year old.

AFP in maternal amniotic fluid or maternal plasma can be used for fetal prenatal monitoring. For example, in cases of neural tube defects, spina bifida, anencephaly, etc., AFP can enter the amniotic fluid through the open neural tube and cause its content in the amniotic fluid to increase significantly. Congenital defects such as fetal death in the uterine cavity and teratoma may also cause an increase in AFP in the amniotic fluid. AFP can partially enter the maternal blood circulation through the amniotic fluid. In 85% of mothers with spina bifida and anencephaly, plasma AFP can be seen to be elevated at 16-18 weeks of gestation and has diagnostic value, but it must be combined with clinical experience to avoid false positive errors.

In adults, AFP can be elevated in the serum of approximately 80% of liver cancer patients, and the AFP positivity rate in germ cell tumors is 50%. Patients with other gastrointestinal tumors such as pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, and liver cirrhosis may also experience varying degrees of increase.

However, when liver cells become cancerous, they regain the ability to produce this protein, and as the disease worsens, its content in the serum increases sharply. AFP becomes a specific clinical indicator for diagnosing primary liver cancer.

In the past, it has been considered a specific tumor marker for diagnosing primary liver cancer, which plays a role in establishing diagnosis, early diagnosis and differential diagnosis. However, a large number of clinical studies have found that some patients with cirrhosis will have AFP levels of over 1,000 for a long time, but will show no signs of liver cancer for many years; at the same time, it has been found that about 20% of patients with advanced liver cancer have AFP levels not exceeding 10 until their death.

After understanding what alpha-fetoprotein means, please pay attention to all liver disease patients. In order to prevent the alpha-fetoprotein level in your body from rising, you must pay attention to actively cooperating with the doctor's treatment in normal times, and you must look at the disease correctly, don't be too nervous, especially pay attention to quitting smoking and drinking, so that your body can be healthier.