Purpose

Diagnosing and monitoring treatment of liver, bone, intestinal, and parathyroid diseases.

Causes of high alkaline phosphatase include bone growth, healing fracture, acromegaly, osteogenic sarcoma, liver or bone metastases, leukemia, myelofibrosis, and rarely myeloma. In rickets and osteomalacia, serum calcium and phosphorus are low to normal, and alkaline phosphatase may be normal or increased. In Paget disease of bone there is often isolated elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase. Some of the highest levels of serum ALP are seen in Paget disease.