Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Apr;18(1):23-26.
doi: 10.5114/pm.2019.84153. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Assessment of the relationship between serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) concentration in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix and the risk of relapse

Sylwester Kubik  1 , Malgorzata Moszynska-Zielinska  2 , Jacek Fijuth  2   3 , Adam Tomalczyk  4 , Dorota Jesionek-Kupnicka  5 , Lidia Ura  6 , Leszek Marcin Gottwald  2   3
Affiliations

Assessment of the relationship between serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) concentration in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix and the risk of relapse

Sylwester Kubik et al. Prz Menopauzalny. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Introduction: Parameters that will help to identify patients with better and worse prognosis are sought in subjects with locally advanced squamous cell cervical carcinoma.

Aim of the study: To assess the relationship between squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) concentration and the risk of relapse in patients with squamous cell cervical carcinoma staged IIB-IIIB.

Material and methods: The study group consisted of 52 patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma staged II B (n = 39) and IIIB (n = 13). Serum SCC-Ag concentration was assessed prior to radiochemotherapy or radiotherapy and four weeks after treatment.

Results: The follow-up after treatment ranged from 1 to 33 months (16.2 ±10.5). During follow-up, nine relapses were diagnosed (17.3%). The concentration of SCC-Ag before the treatment was elevated in 41 cases (78.8%) and in 11 cases (21.2%) it was ≤ 2 ng/ml. In all the patients with relapses SCC-Ag concentration before the treatment was elevated. Relapses were diagnosed in five patients with elevated SCC-Ag concentration after the treatment (55.6%) and in four patients with normal SCC-Ag concentration after the treatment (9.3%). There was a positive correlation between SCC-Ag concentration before and after the treatment and relapse occurrence.

Conclusions: Evaluation of serum SCC-Ag concentration in patients with locally advanced squamous cell cervical carcinoma before treatment is a valuable supplementary diagnostic tool and patients with high SCC-Ag concentration are at an increased risk of relapse. Due to the relationship between elevated serum SCC-Ag concentration after treatment and increased risk of relapse, these patients may require a more intensive post-treatment follow-up.

Keywords: cervical carcinoma; chemoradiotherapy; relapse; squamous cell carcinoma antigen.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A, B) Irradiation field in teleradiotherapy of cervical carcinoma
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Plasma SCC-Ag concentration in patients with locally advanced squamous cell cervical carcinoma before and after treatment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. The National Cancer Registry Malignant neoplasms in Poland in 2015. http://www.onkologia.org.pl.
    1. Jach R, Sznurkowski J, Bidziński M, et al. Recommendations of the Polish Gynecological Society for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer. Curr Gynecol Oncol. 2017;15:24–33.
    1. Marth C, Landoni F, Mahner S, et al. Cervical cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol. 2017;28(Suppl. 4):72–83. - PubMed
    1. Gadducci A, Tana R, Cosio S, et al. The serum assay of tumour markers in the prognostic evaluation, treatment monitoring and follow-up of patients with cervical cancer: a review of the literature. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2008;66:10–20. - PubMed
    1. Liu CZ, Zeng HX, Zhao JJ, et al. The validity of using human squamous cell carcinoma associated antigen and cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1 to predict postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy for nonbulky early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2017;27:994–1000. - PubMed