1987 Volume 78 Issue 9 Pages 1491-1495
The serum level of squamous cell carcinoma related antigen (SCC-Ag.), which is recognized as a tumor marker of cervical cancer of the uterine, was determined by radioimmunoassay and its clinical usefullness in urothelial malignancies was evaluated. A total of 94 sefa from 86 cases of bladder or upper urinary tract cancer, 5 of penile cancer, 1 of scrotal cancer, and 2 of urethral cancer were analyzed for serum SCC-Ag. levels.
The mean±standard deviation (S. D.) of serum SCC-Ag. levels and positive rate (>2.0ng/ml) in each desease were 3.4±0.98ng/ml and 27%, respectively, in uroepithelial cancer, 1.8±3.1ng/ml and 20% in penile cancer, 21ng/ml and 100% in scrotal cancer, and 16.9±12.1ng/ml and 100% in urethral cancer. Although there was no correlation between site of cancer and frequency of squamous cell carcinoma of urothelial cancer group, patients with cancers of the upper urinary tract (n=23) showed statistical high serum SCC-Ag. levels than those with bladder cancers (n=63), namely 7.2±3.5 vs 2.1±0.22ng/ml (p<0.03). serum SCC-Ag. level was 2.6±0.55ng/ml in transitional cell carcinoma (n=78), 16.1±14.5 in squamous cell carcinoma (n=5), and 2.1±0.067 in adenocarcinoma (n=3). Neither pathological staging nor cell grading of urothelial cancer showed no relation to serum SCC-Ag. levels. Serum SCC-Ag. values changed with clinical course in 4patients.
These results suggest that, because there is no specific tumor marker in uroepithelial cancer, the detection of serum SCC-Ag. values may be of use for detection of the cancer and monitoring the patients. With use of another non-specific marker, the accurancy for diagnosis of these malignancies is expected to increase.
