China 
Africa 
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Clinical Applications of Immunoassays
Published in Richard O’Kennedy, Caroline Murphy, Immunoassays, 2017
Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a glycoprotein normally produced by the foetal liver; however, it is often elevated in the sera of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), germ cell tumours and seminomas. Patients with serum levels greater than 500 ng mL−1 are considered high-risk for HCC, but, AFP levels may be normal in patients with small tumours (≤3 cm). Normal AFP levels are set between 10 and 20 ng mL−1, whereas intermediate serum concentrations indicate benign liver disease [67].
Highly sensitive label-free liquid crystal-based aptasensor to detect alpha-fetoprotein
Published in Liquid Crystals, 2022
Duong Song Thai Duong, Chang-Hyun Jang
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer in adults and is the leading cause of death in patients with cirrhosis [1]. To date, the treatment of HCC remains challenging because the clinical symptoms of liver cancer patients have a long-term incubation period [2]. Therefore, early diagnosis of HCC biomarkers is one of the most effective therapies for liver cancer [3]. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a multifunctional glycoprotein with a molecular mass of approximately 68 kDa, is a tumour-associated foetal protein produced by the foetal liver and yolk sac [4]. Elevated AFP concentrations in adult serum are generally indicative of some cancerous diseases, including HCC, yolk sac cancer, teratoma, testicular cancer, and endoderm carcinoma [5]. The concentration of AFP in healthy human serum is below 25ng mL−1, which can increase to 400 ng mL−1 in patients with HCC [3,6]. To date, extensive research on AFP detection has been conducted. Guiyin et al [7]. developed a label-free electrochemical sensor for AFP detection based on aptamers and thionin/reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticles. Qiuhua et al [8]. reported a quantum dot-based immunochromatographic test strip for AFP. Fan et al [9]. developed a colorimetric sensor based on Au@Ag nanorods for the trace detection of AFP.