Elevated Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels in Children with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Liver Disease

Abstract

Introduction:

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) can progress to end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), albeit infrequently in childhood. Our objectives were to (1) investigate the prevalence of elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in children with advanced, MASLD-related, fibrosis (bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis) and (2) ascertain whether pediatric MASLD is associated with AFP elevations regardless of fibrosis severity.

Methods:

Retrospective cohort study of patients aged 6–18 years seen at a single center between 2000 and 2024. Demographics, anthropometrics, blood work, histological data, and relevant imaging studies were collected. Descriptive statistics were used.

Results:

Out of a cohort of 483 pediatric patients followed for MASLD with available AFP data, 161 had undergone liver biopsy, and of those, 22 had advanced fibrosis. Children with advanced fibrosis were predominantly male (82%) and non-Hispanic (55%), with a median age of 11 years (interquartile range [IQR] = 10–18) and severe obesity (median [IQR] body mass index z-score 2.56 [2.33–2.75]). No patients with advanced fibrosis had elevated AFP levels. Of the entire MASLD cohort, however, nine had elevated AFP levels. None were diagnosed with HCC or other tumors.

Conclusions:

In a pediatric cohort with MASLD, severe fibrosis was not associated with elevated AFP levels. AFP elevations were seen however in some patients with MASLD but were not associated with malignancies.