Role of squamous cell carcinoma antigen in monitoring of treatment response of cervical and vaginal malignancies

Abstract

Introduction: As per GLOBOCAN 2012 report Worldwide fourth most common cancer in the female is cervical cancer and approximately 528,000 new cases was found in 2012 in large majority of global burden was found in less developed country. India, the second most populous country in the world, accounts for 27% of the total cervical cancer deaths. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of squamous cells carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) in monitoring of response to treatment in cervical and vaginal cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This prospective case–control study was carried out over a period of 1 year in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in collaboration with the Department of Internal Medicine and Pathology. Histopathologically confirmed study group included 8 cases of Stage I, 15 cases of Stage II, 15 cases of Stage III, 8 cases of Stage IV cervical malignancy, and 5 cases of vaginal carcinoma. About 15 healthy cervical cytology-negative women were taken as controls. Results: Out of 51 cancer cases SCC-Ag level were determined in only Stage I, II, III, and IV cases, assess the response to treatment. The mean SCC-Ag level in all four stage groups decreased significantly after post treatment as compared to pre treatment (P < 0.001) and the decrease in post treatment SCC-Ag level increased linearly with stage severity. Similarly, comparing the total or overall (Stage I + Stage II + Stage III) mean change (pre-post) in SCC-Ag level, t-test further revealed significant (P < 0.001) and decrease of 66.2% at posttreatment as compared to pretreatment. Conclusion: SCC-Ag might be a useful marker in monitoring the response to treatment.