Question:medium
AFP (alpha fetoprotein) is raised in:
AFP (alpha fetoprotein) is raised in:
Show Hint
AFP tracks yolk sac differentiation; beta-HCG tracks trophoblast.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Teratoma
- Yolk sac tumour
- Choriocarcinoma
- Dysgerminoma
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Solve this by pairing germ cell tumours with the protein each makes. Yolk sac tissue makes alpha fetoprotein. Trophoblast tissue makes beta-HCG. Once you hold those two facts, the options sort themselves out.
The yolk sac tumour, also called the endodermal sinus tumour, is by definition built from yolk sac differentiation, and its histological signature, the Schiller-Duval body, mirrors that. Naturally, then, it pours out AFP, and clinicians use serum AFP to confirm the diagnosis and to track response to treatment.
Run the others through the same rule. Choriocarcinoma is trophoblastic, so its marker is beta-HCG, not AFP. Dysgerminoma, the ovarian counterpart of seminoma, typically raises LDH and sometimes placental alkaline phosphatase, but it does not raise AFP. A mature teratoma on its own does not secrete AFP unless it harbours yolk sac elements, so it is not the clean single answer the question wants.
That leaves the yolk sac tumour as the AFP producing tumour.
\[\boxed{\text{Yolk sac tumour}}\]
The yolk sac tumour, also called the endodermal sinus tumour, is by definition built from yolk sac differentiation, and its histological signature, the Schiller-Duval body, mirrors that. Naturally, then, it pours out AFP, and clinicians use serum AFP to confirm the diagnosis and to track response to treatment.
Run the others through the same rule. Choriocarcinoma is trophoblastic, so its marker is beta-HCG, not AFP. Dysgerminoma, the ovarian counterpart of seminoma, typically raises LDH and sometimes placental alkaline phosphatase, but it does not raise AFP. A mature teratoma on its own does not secrete AFP unless it harbours yolk sac elements, so it is not the clean single answer the question wants.
That leaves the yolk sac tumour as the AFP producing tumour.
\[\boxed{\text{Yolk sac tumour}}\]
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