Squamous cell carcinoma antigen serum levels as prognostic parameter in patients with early stage vulvar cancer
Lukas A Hefler1, Gerhard Sliutz, Sepp Leodolter
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. lukas.hefler@meduniwien.ac.at
Objective:
To determine whether SCC-Ag serum levels can be used as a prognostic parameter in surgically treated early stage vulvar cancer.
Methods:
SCC-Ag serum levels were measured preoperatively in 61 surgically staged patients with squamous cell vulvar cancer (UICC pT1 and pT2). Results were correlated to clinical data.
Results:
Mean (standard deviation) SCC-Ag serum levels in patients with vulvar cancer were 1.5 (1.99) ng/mL. SCC-Ag serum levels were significantly higher in patients with pT2 vulvar cancer (2.2 [2.6] ng/mL) compared with patients with pT1 vulvar cancer (1.0 [1.2] ng/mL, P = 0.034). SCC-Ag serum levels were not associated with lymph node involvement (P = 0.1), tumor grade (P = 0.6), and patients' age (P = 0.5). Multivariate Cox regression models considering tumor stage, lymph node involvement, patients' age, and SCC-Ag serum levels as covariates showed that lymph node involvement (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01) and tumor stage (P = 0.006 and P = 0.009), but not SCC-Ag serum levels (P = 0.8 and P = 0.6), and patients' age (P = 0.08 and P = 0.22) are prognostic factors for disease-free and overall survival, respectively.
Conclusion:
SCC-Ag serum levels cannot be used as an additional prognostic parameter in patients with surgically treated early stage vulvar cancer.
