Variation of serum alpha fetoprotein [AFP] levels among different age groups of men and women

The aim of the study was to identify any difference in the levels of a serum based tumour marker, Alpha Fetoprotein [AFP] on the basis of age and gender of patients with different forms of tumour. AFP was studied in 46 patients symptomatic of tumour. Normal levels in males and female did not vary significantly [p>0.05], while age differed highly significant [p<0.001]. The AFP levels of male and female subjects, as well as their age differed highly significantly [p<0.001] with greater values of AFP among males. AFP shows increasing trend with increasing age upto 69 years, however, age group above 70 years exhibits low AFP levels