HCG is a test used routinely to diagnose pregnancy and monitor fetal development. HCG is also used in the diagnosis and monitoring of the effectiveness of treatment for germ cell cancer.

AFP is a test used as a marker to support the diagnosis of liver cancer and germ cell cancer in non-pregnant people and used in prenatal screening tests (Triple test) in pregnant women to assess the risk of abnormalities in chromosomes 13, 18 and 21 for the fetus.