What is the half-life of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)?

From the Guidelines

The half-life of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is approximately 1 to 3 days. This information is crucial in diagnosing and monitoring the presence of tumors, determining prognosis, and assessing treatment outcome in patients with testicular cancer 1.

Key Points

• The half-life of hCG is an important factor in understanding its role as a serum tumor marker.
• hCG is produced by nonseminomatous cells, such as choriocarcinoma, and may be elevated in both seminomatous and nonseminomatous tumors.
• The half-life of hCG is significantly shorter than that of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which has a half-life of approximately 5 to 7 days 1.

Clinical Implications

• The short half-life of hCG means that its levels can fluctuate rapidly in response to changes in tumor burden or treatment.
• This information can be used to monitor treatment response and adjust therapy as needed.
• The half-life of hCG may vary slightly between individuals based on factors such as kidney function, but the approximate range of 1 to 3 days provides a useful guideline for clinical decision-making 1.

From the Research

Half-Life of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)

• The half-life of HCG can be described by two half-lives: an early and a late half-life, which follow a biexponential decay curve 2, 3.
• The early half-life of HCG is dependent on the preoperative value of HCG, whereas the late half-life is independent 2.
• Studies have reported the following half-lives for HCG:
  • Average half-life of 82.5 hours (±SD 50.2) in patients with steadily declining serum β-hCG levels 4.
  • Average half-life of 106.7 hours (±SD 72.0) in patients with primarily plateauing β-hCG levels in the declining phase 4.
  • Mean half-life of 2.32 days after exogenous administration of HCG 5.
• The late half-life of HCG has been proposed as a parameter to follow ectopic pregnancies after treatment, as it can help identify patients with persistent trophoblastic activity 2, 3.