Squamous cell carcinoma antigen as a marker of sinonasal inverted papilloma

This prospective study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) as a clinical marker of sinonasal inverted papilloma (IP). The potential benefit of SCCA in the diagnosis of unilateral nasal pathology and as a marker of hidden recurrence was evaluated as well. Blood samples from patients with sinonasal IP were examined to determine serum SCCA levels before surgery, the day after surgery, and every 6 months during follow-up. Preoperative and postoperative levels of SCCA were compared. Twenty consecutive patients with histologically confirmed IP were included in the study, conducted between 2000 and 2011. The mean age of the patients was 54.2 years (range 35-72). The mean serum SCCA level before surgery was 3.885 μg/l (range 0.7-7.6). A decrease of the SCCA level to 0.885 μg/l (range 0.1-1.9) was observed on the 1 day after a radical surgical procedure. A statistically significant difference between the preoperative and postoperative levels was observed (P < 0.001). Elevated levels of SCCA during long-term follow-up were observed in three patients. All of them had a recurrence of IP. We conclude that the serum level of SCCA is a useful clinical marker of the presence of sinonasal IP. The level of SCC antigen was significantly lower in patients after IP was completely removed. According to our results, SCCA level also appears to be useful for long-term follow-up (hidden recurrence diagnosis).