- Physician may order an AFP blood test when he:
⊕ suspects that a patient has liver cancer or certain cancers of the testes or ovaries.
⊕ is monitoring a patient with chronic liver disease for the emergence of hepatocellular carcinoma or another type of liver cancer.
⊕ is monitoring the effectiveness of treatment in a patient who has been diagnosed with and treated for a cancer of the liver, testes or ovaries.
- the amount of AFP in the blood of a pregnant woman can help see whether the baby may have such problems as spina bifida and anencephaly.
- An AFP-L3% may be ordered to help evaluate the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma when a patient has chronic liver disease. This new test, however, is not widely used and its ultimate clinical utility has yet to be established.
- Increased AFP levels can mean liver cancer, cancer of the ovary, germ cell tumor of the testes, cirrhosis, hepatitis, or other cancers (stomach, colon, lung, breast, lymphoma).
With an AFP-L3%, the doctor receives both a total AFP result and the percentage of AFP that is L3. If a patient has chronic liver disease and their AFP and L3% are significantly elevated, then the patient has an increased risk of having or developing hepatocellular carcinoma in the next year or two. Both AFP and AFP-L3% concentrations can be elevated, and fluctuate, in patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. In these patients, a significant increase in AFP is more important than the actual numerical value of the test result.

Alpha Fetoprotein AFP, Liver, Ovarian, Testes, Fetus Abnormality