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- Title
Role of Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) in Diagnosing Childhood Cancers and Genetic-Related Chronic Diseases.
- Authors
Głowska-Ciemny, Joanna; Szymanski, Marcin; Kuszerska, Agata; Rzepka, Rafał; von Kaisenberg, Constantin S.; Kocyłowski, Rafał
- Abstract
Simple Summary: The article presents the role of alpha-fetoprotein in the diagnosis and monitoring of treatment for selected genetic diseases and early childhood cancers. The authors draw attention to diagnostic pitfalls related to physiological AFP production in the first year of life, inconsistencies in laboratory tests, and result interpretation. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a protein commonly found during fetal development, but its role extends beyond birth. Throughout the first year of life, AFP levels can remain high, which can potentially mask various conditions from the neurological, metabolic, hematological, endocrine, and early childhood cancer groups. Although AFP reference values and clinical utility have been established in adults, evaluating AFP levels in children during the diagnostic process, treatment, and post-treatment surveillance is still associated with numerous diagnostic pitfalls. These challenges arise from the presence of physiologically elevated AFP levels, inconsistent data obtained from different laboratory tests, and the limited population of children with oncologic diseases that have been studied. To address these issues, it is essential to establish updated reference ranges for AFP in this specific age group. A population-based study involving a statistically representative group of patients could serve as a valuable solution for this purpose.
- Subjects
GENETIC disorder treatment; DIAGNOSIS of tumors in children; GENETIC disorder diagnosis; CHRONIC disease diagnosis; ALPHA fetoproteins; REFERENCE values; PUBLIC health surveillance; TUMORS in children
- Publication
Cancers, 2023, Vol 15, Issue 17, p4302
- ISSN
2072-6694
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/cancers15174302