[CEA studies in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck]

The serum CEA levels of 134 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were studied at the time of diagnosis, at the end of primary therapy and every three months during the follow-up period. Since such patients are mostly nicotine and alcohol addicts, only CEA concentrations above 5 ng/ml were regarded as abnormal. At the time of diagnosis 30% of the patients had clearly abnormal CEA values, more commonly in oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal tumours than for oral and laryngeal carcinomas. The incidence of pathological CEA concentrations also increased with increasing tumour extension, to a greater extent in well-differentiated than in undifferentiated squamous cell carcinomas. After termination of the primary therapy we found no correlation between success of treatment and serum CEA concentration. Studies of the course of CEA values in tumour-free patients revealed both rising and falling serum values during the period of observation. It was not possible to diagnose tumour recurrence early with the aid of increasing CEA concentrations. CEA exhibits only moderate sensitivity towards squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. As correlations between the course of the disease and CEA concentrations in serum could only rarely be observed, the usefulness of this tumour marker for following the course of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma must be regarded as rather low.