Abstract
A number of individual studies have evaluated the diagnostic efficiency of serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) and SCCA-immunoglobulin (IgM) for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the results have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of serum SCCA and SCCA-IgM for HCC. A systematic review of related studies was conducted and relevant data on the accuracy of serum SCCA and SCCA-IgM in the diagnosis of HCC were pooled using random-effects models. Summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) analysis was used to summarize the overall test performance. A total of 12 studies were included in our meta-analysis. The summary estimates for serum SCCA and SCCA-IgM for HCC diagnosis in the included studies were as follows: Sensitivity = 0.59 (95% CI: 0.56-0.62) vs. 0.60 (95% CI: 0.56-0.63); specificity = 0.76 (95% CI: 0.73-0.79) vs. 0.70 (95% CI: 0.67-0.73); diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) = 6.68 (95% CI: 3.71-12.03) vs. 7.32 (95% CI: 3.31-16.15); and area under the SROC curve = 0.7826 vs. 0.7955. Therefore, SCCA and SCCA-IgM exhibited moderate diagnostic accuracy for HCC. Due to the design limitations, the results of published studies should be interpreted with caution. In addition, well-designed studies including larger sample sizes should be conducted to rigorously evaluate the diagnostic value of SCCA and SCCA-IgM.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer‐related mortality and the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide [1]
Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) is a novel tumor marker recently discovered to be of diagnostic value in patients with HCC
Serum biomarkers are crucial in HCC diagnosis and several biomarkers have been identified, including α‐fetoprotein (AFP), AFP‐L3, glycoprotein 73, SCCA, glypican‐3, transforming growth factor‐β and des‐γ‐carboxy prothrombin [24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31]
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer‐related mortality and the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide [1]. As the majority of HCC patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, the prognosis of HCC is generally poor. Squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) is a novel tumor marker recently discovered to be of diagnostic value in patients with HCC. SCCA is a serine protease inhibitor physiologically found in the spinous and granular layers of normal squamous epithelium, and typically expressed by neoplastic cells of epithelial origin [3]. Increased levels of SCCA have been found in epithelial cancers of the neck, cervix and lungs [4,5,6]. The aim of the present study was to determine the diagnostic performance of serum SCCA and SCCA‐IgM for HCC diagnosis using a meta‐analysis
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
