Abstract
Squamous cell carcinoma related antigen (SCC-Ag) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were respectively estimated by radioimmunoassay of serum samples obtained from 35 and 42 untreated patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas. The expression of SCC-Ag and CEA in the tumor tissue was also investigated immunohistochemically.
Pathologic serum SCC-Ag levels in excess of the cut-off value (1.5 ng/ml) were observed in 37.1% of the patients. The serum SCC-Ag level correlated positively with clinical staging and tumor size according to the TNM classification and the degree of SCC-Ag expression on tumor cells, but did not correlate with the degree of differentiation, and the mode and stage of invasion. Furthermore, serial measurements of the serum SCC-Ag level revealed good and rapid responses to treatment. In contrast, elevated serum CEA levels over the cut-off value of 2.5 ng/ml were observed only in 11.9% of the patients. The serum CEA level did not show any correlation with clinical staging or other variables.
Thus, the determination of serum SCC-Ag level was of clinical value in the pretherapeutic staging and post-therapeutic monitoring of disease, although it was not useful for the detection of early signs of disease. Compared with SCC-Ag, CEA was less useful as a tumor marker of oral squamous cell carcinomas.
