title: The utility of squamous cell carcinoma antigen for the follow-up of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Thirty-three patients with histologic documentation of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the anal canal underwent prospective serial collection of 234 serum samples for radioimmunoassay of SCC tumor-associated antigen.
  
  
  METHODS
  There were 23 female and 10 male patients, with a median age of 55 years. Twenty-two of the 33 patients had multimodality therapy with radiation therapy and chemotherapy as initial treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median follow-up was 22 months (range, 4-52 months), with a median of 13 serum specimens per patient (range, 1-23 specimens). Twenty-eight patients currently have no evidence of disease, 4 patients are alive with disease, and 1 patient died with disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In these 33 patients, the sensitivity of the SCC tumor-associated antigen was 76%, specificity 86%, and positive predictive value 62%.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York 14263.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Petrelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhargava
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001005:Anus Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015843:Serpins
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015843:Serpins; C051072:squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen