Alpha Fetoprotein

Alpha fetoprotein ●​ Glycoprotein produced in fetal liver + yolk sac on development ●​ AFP in adult is in low level ○​ Could increase in level with certain disease ■​ Hepatocellular Carcinoma ●​ Tumor cell in liver produce AFP ●​ AFP produced here is similar to fetal liver cell ■​ Germ Cell Tumors ●​ Yolk sac tumors ●​ Tumors arise from embryonic cells ●​ Naturally produce AFP ■​ Cirrhosis ●​ Damage in liver tissue ●​ Regeneration ●​ Increase in AFP production ■​ Chronic Hepatitis ●​ Liver inflammation ●​ Liver cell injury + regeneration ●​ Increase in AFP level ■​ Neural tube Defects ●​ In pregnancy ●​ AFP leaks from fetal circulation ⇒ maternal blood ●​ Happens due to opening in neural tube ●​ Used as tumor marker ●​ Diagnostic blood test Physiological Role ●​ AFP functions similarly by albumin ○​ Transport of proteins + other molecules within fetal blood ○​ Maintaining osmotic pressure ○​ Support on fetal growth + development ●​ After birth ○​ AFP level will decrease rapidly Normal AFP level ●​ <10ng/ml typical for normal adult ●​ Higher than this will indicates disease Cx ●​ AFP measurement could be widely used in clinical settings ○​ Cancer detection ■​ AFP = marker for cancers ●​ Hepatocellular Carcinoma ■​ Liver disease monitoring ●​ Chronic hepatitis ●​ AFP testing could be done during pregnancy = detect fetal abnormalities = done through prenatal screening Dx ●​ Screen high-risk individuals ●​ Monitor on treatment effectiveness ●​ Detection on recurrence of cancer Limitation ●​ Non-cancerous conditions ●​ Not specific test ●​ Additional diagnostic test must be done/required ○​ Imaging ○​ Biopsy