The Clinical Value of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen in Cancer of the Uterine Cervix

Abstract

A review is given of the clinical use and interpretation of serum tumor marker levels during the treatment of patients with cancer of the uterine cervix. Pretreatment serum squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen provides a new prognostic factor in early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Elevated serum values of SCC antigen at the time of diagnosis of stage IB and IIA cervical cancer indicate a 3 × increased risk of tumor recurrence, independent of tumor diameter, grade or the presence of lymph node metastases. High pretreatment SCC antigen levels could therefore be used to select ‘high-risk’ patients for adjuvant therapy. Measurement of the serum SCC antigen levels provides a means of monitoring the effect of therapy. During the postoperative follow-up of patients with localized cancer of the uterine cervix the measurement of SCC antigen can lead to the early detection of recurrent disease when curative therapy is still an option. The profile of serum SCC antigen parallels the response to radiotherapy and provides a way of evaluating the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Serial measurements after surgery and during radio- and chemotherapy demonstrate that SCC antigen is a more sensitive marker for recognizing tumor progression or recurrence than CYFRA-21.1, TPS or CEA. When following up patients with a pure adenocarcinoma of the cervix measurements of serum CA 125 and CEA are preferred over SCC antigen measurements.

Granzyme M: behind enemy lines

“…[52][53][54][55] Expression of the hGrM inhibitor SerpinB4 may therefore constitute an analogous mechanism via which tumor cells could evade cell death. Interestingly, SerpinB4 expression has been found in numerous squamous cell carcinoma's: in the squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix, 99 head and neck, and lung. 100 Moreover, elevated SerpinB4 mRNA levels correlate with the progression from normal, to dysplastic, to cancerous tissue, 101 and are a predictor of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma prognosis.…”

A Case of Cervical Cancer-related Membranous Nephropathy Treated with Radiation Therapy

“…The patient did not complain of major manifestations such as atypical vaginal bleeding associated with cervical cancer. In general, the measurement of serum SCCA for the screening of SCC is not conducted because of the low positive rate of serum SCCA in the early stage of cancer (7). Regarding that the prevalence of cancer among patients over 60 years old with nephrotic syndrome was 22% (8) and that 24% of cancer accompanied MN patients had SCC (6), the SCC screening with SCCA measurement would be reasonable to consider.…”

“…Regarding that the prevalence of cancer among patients over 60 years old with nephrotic syndrome was 22% (8) and that 24% of cancer accompanied MN patients had SCC (6), the SCC screening with SCCA measurement would be reasonable to consider. In addition, monitoring of serum SCCA in cervical cancer patients is useful for clinical decision making and predicting prognosis (9-11), or detection of recurrence of carcinoma (7,12).…”

Relationship between decreased expression of squamous cell carcinoma antigen 2 and E-cadherin in primary cervical cancer lesions and lymph node metastasis

“…SCCA has been used for the management of squamous cell carcinoma, especially for the evaluation of therapeutic effects and for monitoring disease recurrence (2). Recent molecular studies have shown that SCCA is encoded by two high homogeneous genes, SCCA1 and SCCA2, which are tandemly arrayed at the 18q21.3 locus (3).…”