ArticlePloS one2022
Elevated alpha-fetoprotein in asymptomatic adults: Clinical features, outcome, and association with body composition.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Prevalence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Its Impact on Fibrosis Risk in Inactive Chronic Hepatitis B Patients: Insights from a Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Cancer stem cells: advances in knowledge and implications for cancer therapy.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2024Review
- Myosteatosis: Diagnosis, pathophysiology and consequences in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimApparently healthy individuals with elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels (>7 ng/mL) for unknown causes visit clinics. We investigated their clinical characteristics, outcomes, and relationship with body fat deposition and muscle mass.
methodsThe case group included asymptomatic 137 individuals with "elevated AFP level" (R772) diagnostic code from 2009 to 2018 in a tertiary hospital. The control group enrolled 274 age- and sex-matched patients with <5 cm hepatic hemangiomas. Hepatic, visceral, and psoas muscle adiposity and psoas muscle index (PMI) were measured in the subgroups of 45 cases and 90 controls with pre-contrast computed tomography (CT) images.
resultsThe case group (mean age 47.5 years, male 35.8%) showed higher AFP levels (10.3 vs 2.5 ng/mL, p<0.001) and total bilirubin (0.8 vs 0.7 mg/dL, p<0.001), but a lower body mass index (22.2 vs 23.3 kg/m2, p = 0.011) and alanine aminotransferase levels (17.0 vs 19.0 IU/L, p = 0.047) than the controls. During 13 months of median follow-up, there was no cancer or liver disease development. The AFP levels were stable. In the subgroups with CT images, cases showed a lower proportion of hepatic steatosis (4.4% vs 18.9%, p = 0.023), higher psoas muscle attenuation (48.2 vs 43.8 Hounsfield units, p<0.001) and higher PMI (5.7 vs 4.2 cm2/m2, p<0.001) than the controls.
conclusionElevated AFP levels in asymptomatic individuals may play a role in expressing a protective phenotype against hepatic steatosis, myosteatosis, and sarcopenia. AFP levels in patients with elevated AFP were stable during follow-up without liver injury or cancer development. Interaction between AFP expression and steatosis warrants further study.
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