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World J Hepatol. Apr 27, 2026; 18(4): 114861
Published online Apr 27, 2026. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v18.i4.114861
Published online Apr 27, 2026. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v18.i4.114861
Letter to the Editor: Serum alpha-fetoprotein dynamics in liver failure - prognostic implications and clinical insights
Xing-Xue Niu, The First Clinical Medical School, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Xiao-Jun Yang, Department of General Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Author contributions: Niu XX contributed to this paper, the writing, and editing the manuscript; Yang XJ contributed to manuscript review; and all of the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province, No. 25JRRA304; the Intramural Research Fund of Gansu Provincial Hospital, No. 22GSSYA-3; and Doctoral Research Fund of the Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Tumors, National Health Commission of China, No. NHCDP2022001.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Corresponding author: Xiao-Jun Yang, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of General Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, No. 199 Donggang West Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China. yangxjmd@aliyun.com
Received: October 9, 2025
Revised: December 8, 2025
Accepted: January 8, 2026
Published online: April 27, 2026
Processing time: 203 Days and 3.6 Hours
Revised: December 8, 2025
Accepted: January 8, 2026
Published online: April 27, 2026
Processing time: 203 Days and 3.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Guo et al highlighted that serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) kinetics may serve as an important prognostic indicator for patients with liver failure and help stratify risk in those receiving artificial liver support therapy. Despite limitations such as a small sample size and a lack of mechanistic validation, dynamic changes in AFP remain a promising complement to traditional prognostic scores. Future research should prioritize multicenter prospective validation and integrate AFP kinetics with multidimensional biomarkers and existing prognostic models, while also exploring regeneration-related signaling such as Wnt/β-catenin, STAT3, and immune pathways.