AFP

I'm currently waiting on treatment decisions due to lesions which were seen on my liver and right kidney. I've had a biopsy which showed grade 2, stage 2, and I am a type 1a. Last week I went to the regular doc and had some tests done through them for the HCV doc, one of which was the AFPTM. I'm having trouble finding any info on the normal levels of AFP and it's nerve racking. Reference intervals show 0.0 - 8.3, my result was 4.4 on this test and 4.0 on a previous test. I'm not scheduled to see the HCV doc until July and I'm trying to understand what this means, any help would be great! Thanks all!

[Bill1954]

Hi, welcome to the discussion group.

The reference intervals should also be the ‘normal level’; the two terms can be used interchangeably.

HCV patients often have somewhat elevated AFP results; unless they’re in the hundreds and or if indicate steadily rising trends, there’s probably not much to be concerned about.

While HCV patients with cirrhosis are at an increased risk for developing HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma, primary liver cancer), that increased risk doesn’t occur until the patient becomes cirrhotic. a patient with stage 2 fibrosis should carry the same low risk that the general population carries.

I can’t speak for kidneys, but lesions of the liver in non-cirrhotic patients are often ‘hemangiomas’, or blood tumors. These are usually benign, and don’t typically require intervention unless there is vascular or biliary blockage, or they somehow cause discomfort.

Good luck, and let us know what you find out-

Bill

[Bill1954]

Hi, welcome to the discussion group.

The reference intervals should also be the ‘normal level’; the two terms can be used interchangeably.

HCV patients often have somewhat elevated AFP results; unless they’re in the hundreds and or if indicate steadily rising trends, there’s probably not much to be concerned about.

While HCV patients with cirrhosis are at an increased risk for developing HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma, primary liver cancer), that increased risk doesn’t occur until the patient becomes cirrhotic. a patient with stage 2 fibrosis should carry the same low risk that the general population carries.

I can’t speak for kidneys, but lesions of the liver in non-cirrhotic patients are often ‘hemangiomas’, or blood tumors. These are usually benign, and don’t typically require intervention unless there is vascular or biliary blockage, or they somehow cause discomfort.

Good luck, and let us know what you find out-

Bill

[SusieS2010]

Your test result is normal. That is good. What did the doctor say about the lesions? AFP is a tumor marker but it isn't a particularly good one. Imaging is the best way to look for lesions.  

[mlkinmb]

Thanks Bill, your comments, as always, make sense. It's just a wait and see at this stage, but the not knowing is bothersome. Too many test results to ponder. It's been a while since i've posted, nothing much new until now, you may remember me from before.

Susie, the lesions were seen during the CT assisted liver biopsy. The comments on the lesions, on the liver, "although this is solid and could represent a neoplasm", on the kidney, "focal lesion in right kidney with indeterminate characteristics due to small size", "recommed follow-up CT to evaluate for stability"

The lesions are the culprit delaying start of treatment, I hhate the waiting.......
Thanks all!

[SusieS2010]

Good luck. And as Bill said the chance of liver lesions being a primary liver cancer (HCC) in non-cirrhotic patients is quite low. What are they going to do to determine what the lesion is?

[mlkinmb]

Susie, At this point I can only wait to see what the next CT shows and what the doc's thoughts are, any enlargements will prompt further tests I'm sure. For the most part I'd just like to start the treatment and see how I respond, but there seems to be cause for concern, so the HCV doc wants to wait. As I said, I'm a 1a, S2, G2, and my VL was all but 24 mil. at the end of Oct., I'm waiting on a new VL count also. Some of my labs are off due to having no spleen I think, WBC @ 17.0, platelets @ 599, and others.
Oh well........wait and see.....Thanks!!