Elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein

A fetal protein (alpha-fetoprotein, AFP for short) is an important component of fetal serum during the embryonic period, with a serum content of up to 1 mg per milliliter. But its content in adult serum is only nanogram level. However, when adults have primary liver cancer or teratoma, the level of AFP in serum will rise again, so AFP is said to be a carcinoembryonic anti-protein. As early as the 1950s, scholars discovered AFP in fetal serum. In the 1960s, it was found that alpha-fetoprotein also exists in the serum of humans or animals with primary liver cancer. Later, this discovery was gradually used to clinically diagnose liver cancer. In addition to embryonic cancer, AFP is highly specific for the diagnosis of liver cancer.