The impact of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen in the follow-up after radiotherapy in patients with cervical cancer

The impact of Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) in the follow-up of patients with cervical cancer treated with radiotherapy was evaluated. 72 patients with a histologically proven squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated at the Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Ocology, Munster; Germany. The pretherapeutic serum level of SCC was elevated in 60% of patients (cut-off-level: 2.5 ng/ml). The median serum level correlated with the tumor stage. After the end of radiation treatment, 98% of patients in complete I emission and 87% of patients in partial remission had a serum level below the cut-off. In the case of recurrent disease, 71% of patients had a significant increase of SCC serum levels before clinical manifestation of relapse. The lending time ranged between one and 16 months (median: 3.1 months). In conclusion, SCC is a useful tumor marker in the follow-lip of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.