Abstract
Objective Although tumor marker levels in blood become elevated after hemodialysis as a result of the amount of fluid removed, serum squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen (SCC) levels have not been always reported to increase after hemodialysis. The purpose of this report is to determine whether there is a difference between the change of serum SCC levels before and after hemodialysis according to the model of dialyzer employed.
Patients and Methods In ninety-four patients on hemodialysis (50 cases of diabetic nephropathy and 44 cases of glomerulonephritis), we examined serum SCC levels before and after hemodialysis.
Results There was no overall difference between SCC levels before and after hemodialysis (3.2±1.5 ng/ml vs 3.3±1.7 ng/ml, p=0.2381). In patients treated with a cellulosic type membrane dialyzer (n=73), SCC levels after hemodialysis were higher than those before hemodialysis (3.7±1.7 ng/ml vs 3.5±1.5 ng/ml, p=0.0495). In patients treated with a synthetic type membrane (n=21), SCC levels after hemodialysis decreased when compared to those before hemodialysis (1.9±0.7 ng/ml vs 2.2±0.8 ng/ml, p=0.0018) and in all patients, the SCC levels after hemodialysis were lower than, or equal to, those before hemodialysis.
Conclusion The results suggest that the decline in serum SCC levels during hemodialysis treated with synthetic type membrane of dialyzers, concealed the increased SCC levels in hemoconcentration.
(Internal Medicine 39: 291-295, 2000)
