What is the cause of a high AFP value and what may be the cause or disease .

How old is it ? Age? Gender? AFP is usually elevated if there is recent active hepatitis and liver damage. Do a CT enhancement and rest assured. Just pay attention to the review

AFP alpha-fetoprotein is synthesized by hepatocytes and yolk sacs during the embryonic period and is present in fetal serum, with the highest fetal serum content at 4-5 months of age, which almost disappears after birth. Reduced to normal < 20 ng ml within 1 year. Normal gestational elevation reaches 90-500 ng mL in the second trimester

Abnormal serum AFP in pregnant women with malformed pregnancies (anencephaly spina bifida) is abnormally elevated. Teratomas were significantly high, and about 80% of patients with primary liver cancer had an increased serum AFP level (>300ug L), which was 3-8 months earlier than the onset of clinical symptoms. Other cancers < 100ug l

AFP is a kind of fetal globulin, referred to as alpha-fetoprotein, the synthesis site of AFP is mainly in the liver of rodents and human embryos, is the most specific marker of primary liver cancer, primary liver cancer patients with a serum AFP increase of up to 250ng-6mg ml, (even up to 9mg ml), AFP positive for the diagnosis of early liver cancer has an important value, therefore, hepatitis B patients over 40 years old, every semi-routine examination of AFP. Normal is less than 30 u L, and elevated often indicates a tumor.

Causes of low AFP.

Low alpha-fetoprotein indicates that the fetus has the possibility of Down syndrome, at this time you should wait for 19 weeks to go for a recheck, if the value of alpha-fetoprotein rises, it means that the baby is developing, only need regular physical examination, don't worry too much, but if the alpha-fetoprotein does not increase but decreases in the next reexamination, then do amniocentesis to rule out fetal abnormalities, expectant mothers must take it to heart.

What to do if the AFP is low.

Expectant mothers have low alpha-fetoprotein, and lower-than-normal levels of alpha-fetoprotein may be at risk of Down syndrome. In general, however, AFP should be combined with other tests—chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) to be useful in screening for Down syndrome.

Low alpha-fetoprotein is often related to factors in the examination process, and if there is no abnormality in other indicators, pay attention to dynamic observation. It is recommended to live a regular life, supplement nutrition in a balanced manner, and recheck regularly to understand the changes in alpha-fetoprotein. If the test result is still low alpha-fetoprotein, attention should be paid to the comprehensive analysis in combination with other examinations, so that targeted measures can be taken.

The cause of AFP should be measured at the antenatal check-up.

1. Diagnosis of open neural tube defects. Application of maternal serum in screening for neural tube defectsAlpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is the most common globulin in fetal serum, which is produced by the yolk sac in the first trimester and in large quantities by the fetal liver in the third trimester. In the case of open neural tube defects, AFP leaks out of the fetus in large quantities, resulting in a significant increase in the concentration of AFP in maternal serum, so its role in fetal neural tube defect screening (NTD) is currently irreplaceable by other markers.

The determination of AFP content in amniotic fluid can diagnose open neural tube defects in 60%-70% of fetuses, and when combined with ultrasonography, it can significantly improve the diagnosis of fetal neural tube defects. Through prenatal screening, fetal neural tube defects can be detected early and the birth of malformed babies can be reduced. The most common neural tube defects are anencephaly, spina bifida, open encephaly, and craniospina bifida.

About 80% of patients with neural tube defects have hydrocephalus.

If the fetus is anencephaly, serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) may be elevated in the second trimester, and the skull may not be visible on ultrasonography. Screening expectant mothers for AFP in the second trimester can also help diagnose spina bifida in the fetus.

2. Diagnosis of Down syndrome. Decreased AFP can be seen in Down syndrome, so AFP is often used as a test for Down syndrome.

3. Understand fetal maturity. Since the AFP values in the amniotic fluid and in the serum of the expectant mother are related to the gestational age of the pregnancy, the age of pregnancy can be estimated to understand the maturity of the fetus.

AFP is also known as alpha-fetoprotein, under normal circumstances, alpha-fetoprotein mainly comes from the liver cells of the embryo, and the alpha-fetoprotein disappears from the blood about two weeks after the fetus is born, so the content of alpha-fetoprotein in normal human serum is less than 20ug L, that is, the normal value of alpha-fetoprotein is in the range of 0-20ug L, but the pregnancy and newborn will increase physiologically in a certain period of time, but it will not be higher than 400 g L. Alpha-fetoprotein is usually used as a marker of liver cancer in liver function tests, but high alpha-fetoprotein does not necessarily mean liver cancer, and there are other clinical diagnostic significance.

What are the causes of high AFP?

1. Liver cancer is one of the common causes of high alpha-fetoprotein or alpha-fetoprotein positive, the content of alpha-fetoprotein in the serum of normal people is less than 20 g l, but when the liver cells become cancerous, they resume the function of producing this protein, and the alpha-fetoprotein has been increased 8 months before the symptoms of liver cancer.

2. Acute and chronic hepatitis, convalescent period of severe hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, congenital bile duct occlusion, malformed fetuses, etc., will lead to high AFP, but the increase is small and lasts for a short time.

3. Some patients with gastrointestinal tumors, such as pancreatic cancer, lung cancer and germ cell tumors, can also have varying degrees of high alpha-fetoprotein.

4. Pregnant women and newborns will also have a temporary increase in alpha-fetoprotein, because alpha-fetoprotein is the normal plasma protein component of the fetus, is the main protein in the early embryonic stage, pregnant women generally in the 3 months after pregnancy, alpha-fetoprotein will be significantly increased, to 7-8 months pregnant women maternal blood AFP amount reached the highest peak and relatively stable, but it is still less than 400 g L, about 3 weeks after the birth of the gradual return to normal level.

The normal value of AFP radioimmunoassay is generally below 20 ng ml, some are below 25 ng ml, and the normal value of chemiluminescence detection is less than 5 IU ml.

Alpha-fetoprotein AFP is a highly specific and sensitive re-reported tumor marker for primary liver cancer. Its cutoff value is generally 20 g l, and when it is greater than 500 ug l or the content is rising, it is more definite. Since no 100% specific and 100% sensitive tumor markers have been found, there is no one-to-one correspondence between tumors and tumor markers, and the dust is only a correlation.

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