Comparison of Cyfra 21-1 and SCC Assays in Head and Neck Tumours

• Published in: Tumor biology 2001-01, Vol.22 (1), p.27-35
• Main Authors: Banal, A., Hacene, K., Berthelot-Ruff, E., Mahé, E., Fontana, X., Pichon, M.F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - blood; Adenocarcinoma - mortality; Adenocarcinoma - pathology; Adenocarcinoma - therapy; Aged; Antigens, Neoplasm - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers, Tumor - blood; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - blood; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - mortality; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - therapy; Disease Progression; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms - blood; Head and Neck Neoplasms - mortality; Head and Neck Neoplasms - pathology; Head and Neck Neoplasms - therapy; Host-tumor relations. Immunology. Biological markers; Humans; Keratin-19; Keratins; Life Tables; Lymphatic Metastasis; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Prognosis; Research Article; ROC Curve; Sensitivity and Specificity; Serpins; Survival Analysis; Treatment Outcome; Tumors
• ISSN: 1010-4283; 1423-0380
• DOI: 10.1159/000030152

Patients with head and neck tumours (HNT) have a high risk of early locoregional relapse that is difficult to diagnose. This study evaluated the usefulness of the serum Cyfra 21-1 assay compared to squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) assay for monitoring such patients. Three hundred and twelve HNT patients, including 204 newly diagnosed patients, were followed up for a median of 446 days with serial serum assays for SCC and Cyfra 21-1. Untreated patients showed SCC and Cyfra 21-1 serum levels correlated with each other: concentration was correlated to clinical stage, tumour size (as T1 + T2 vs. T3 + T4) and nodal status. Cyfra 21-1, but not SCC, was related to the presence of metastases and the primary tumour site, with a univariate prognostic value for disease-free survival (p = 0.015). Cox’s regression analysis showed that only Cyfra 21-1 was associated with a risk of relapse (p = 0.027). The random coefficient growth curve model applied to serial SCC and Cyfra 21-1 measurements of 111 patients showed that only Cyfra 21-1 exhibited a significant difference between patients with and without relapses. We found Cyfra 21-1 to be more closely related to initial clinical data and disease evolution than SCC, and therefore propose the use of Cyfra 21-1 for monitoring head and neck cancers.