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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 7, 2025; 31(37): 111914
Published online Oct 7, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i37.111914
Published online Oct 7, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i37.111914
Prognostic value of serum alpha-fetoprotein kinetics in liver failure on artificial liver support
Wei-Bo Guo, Jing Yang, Wen Li, Fa-Yao Shen, Yu-Ting Li, Jin-Hui Yang, Department of Ga
Lu-Yao Wang, Department of Preventive Medicine, Department of Child Health Care, Kunming Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Kunming 650000, Yunnan Province, China
Xi-Ju Guo, Department of Gastroenterology, Baoshan People’s Hospital, Baoshan 678000, Yunnan Province, China
Wen-Lin Tai, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650101, Yunnan Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Jin-Hui Yang and Wen-Lin Tai.
Author contributions: Guo WB conceived and designed the study, collected and analyzed clinical data, and drafted the initial manuscript; Wang LY participated in the design of the study, and revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content; Guo XJ assisted in patient enrollment and clinical data collection, and participated in the discussion of results; Yang J, Li W, Shen FY, and Li YT performed experiments, and helped in data sorting and validation; Yang JH supervised the study design and data analysis, provided critical revisions to the manuscript, and secured funding for the research; Tai WL oversaw the laboratory analysis, interpreted the experimental results; Yang JH and Tai WL contributed equally to this work as co-corresponding authors. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82160106.
Institutional review board statement: This study was carried out in strict compliance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University and Baoshan People’s Hospital, No. 202402-LL-012.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before their participation.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The data supporting the results of this study have been deposited in the Clinical Research Center of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Province, China, No. IIT-2024-0101-XH-010. The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, in compliance with privacy restrictions.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jin-Hui Yang, Chief Physician, Full Professor, Department of Gas
Received: July 16, 2025
Revised: August 21, 2025
Accepted: September 10, 2025
Published online: October 7, 2025
Processing time: 71 Days and 18.3 Hours
Revised: August 21, 2025
Accepted: September 10, 2025
Published online: October 7, 2025
Processing time: 71 Days and 18.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study establishes that baseline alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) stratification (< 100 ng/mL, 100-200 ng/mL, > 200 ng/mL) in liver failure patients receiving plasma exchange-based artificial liver support systems predicts regenerative capacity and clinical outcomes. High-AFP patients (> 200 ng/mL) baseline AFP levels demonstrated improved liver function recovery, fewer complications, and required fewer treatment sessions compared to those with lower levels. Critically, three-month survival was dose-dependent, with baseline AFP > 200 ng/mL providing excellent prognostic discrimination. Serial AFP monitoring enables precision artificial liver support systems therapy by identifying patients with high endogenous regenerative potential.