AFP & HCG Markers

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Hi guys,

So I’ve been on observation since July and things were going well in august, AFP was back down to 6 (1-10 normal range) and HCG lowering nicely, was at 49 (1-6 normal),

However since then my bloods have been a bit off and up and down, my AFP has been everywhere, went up to 35, back down to 20, up again, down again etc and isn’t settling in the normal range. My HCG has also been steadily rising and is now at 350, I know AFP is the more important one to look at but does anybody have an explanation as to why they are so all over the place?

My oncologist is now waiting to hear back from a MDT meeting about possibly giving me chemo just to settle things down because he wasn’t happy with how they are jumping, just not really sure how to feel about why they are so up and down.

My pre orchiectomy bloods were:

AFP - 125

HCG - 2400

  • If you’re HCG levels are 350 then you will definitely need treatment as that’s a definite sign of active cancer. Consultants like to see HCG levels below 2. I’m speaking from experience as I’ve been through BEP, hcg levels dropped to 7.4, started to rise again so done TIP chemo. HCG levels dropped to 3.5 in March & pet scan was clear so I was sort of in remission for a few months then HCG levels started to rise again in august. I’m currently doing high dose chemo with stem cell transplant. My hcg levels were 170 when I started that. I’ve completed one cycle & bloods are at normal level but I still need to go do another cycle next week.