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Like any elevated tumor marker, elevated AFP by itself is not diagnostic, only suggestive. Tumor markers are used primarily to monitor the result of a treatment (e.g. chemotherapy). If levels of AFP go down after treatment, the tumor is not growing. In the case of babies, after treatment AFP should go down faster than it would normally. A ...
Clinical evaluation of lentil lectin-reactive alpha-fetoprotein-L3 in histology-proven hepatocellular carcinoma. Khien VV, et al., Int J Biol Markers. 2001 Apr-Jun;16(2):105-11. Usefulness of measurement of Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of alpha-fetoprotein as a marker of prognosis and recurrence of small hepatocellular carcinoma.
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP, α-fetoprotein; also sometimes called alpha-1-fetoprotein, alpha-fetoglobulin, or alpha fetal protein) is a protein [5] [6] that in humans is encoded by the AFP gene. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] The AFP gene is located on the q arm of chromosome 4 (4q13.3). [ 9 ]
Tumor marker Associated tumor types Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) germ cell tumor, hepatocellular carcinoma [8] CA15-3: breast cancer [9] CA27.29: breast cancer [10] CA19-9: Mainly pancreatic cancer, but also colorectal cancer and other types of gastrointestinal cancer. [11] CA-125
These cells secrete alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which can be detected in tumor tissue, serum, cerebrospinal fluid, urine and, in the rare case of fetal EST, in amniotic fluid. When there is incongruence between biopsy and AFP test results for EST, the result indicating presence of EST dictates treatment. [ 3 ]
In pregnant people AFP levels rise at 14 weeks until 32 weeks, and range between 10 and 150 ng/mL in the middle of gestation. This is why AFP can be used alongside other tests as a tumor marker protein in adults. [12] AFP is a single polypeptide chain with a half-life of 4–5 days.
This tumor marker can be detected in the blood, saliva, or urine. [17] The possibility of identifying an effective biomarker for early cancer diagnosis has recently been questioned, in light of the high molecular heterogeneity of tumors observed by next-generation sequencing studies.
Therefore, the utilization of such techniques for objective tumor response should be restricted to validation purposes in specialized centers. However, such techniques can be useful in confirming complete pathological response when biopsies are obtained. Tumor markers alone cannot be used to assess response.