Serum tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) in patients with cervical carcinoma: preliminary report

Tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) was measured by TPS ELISA in the sera of 88 patients with FIGO stage II and III cervical cancer and 93 healthy Thai women as the control group. The mean serum TPS levels were 63.1 U/L in the control group, and 166.4 and 363.2 U/L in stage II and III cervical cancer respectively. The mean of the control group and stage II patients were not significantly different while the mean of stage III patients was significantly different from those two groups (p < 0.0005). With the cut-off value of 90 U/L, the rates of TPS elevation were 22/35 (65.7%) in stage II and 42/53 (79.2%) in stage III patients. As for the pathology, squamous cell carcinoma showed a statistical difference from adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma of P = 0.001. For squamous cell carcinoma, there was no difference between the keratinized and non-keratinized type (P = 0.451). TPS is not sensitive in stage II. However, it might be useful for predicting prognosis if the elevation is significantly high, and distant metastases or local recurrence should be investigated.