title: Estimation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the diagnosis, the prognosis and the treatment follow-up of oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: This study evaluated usefulness of serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels in the diagnosis and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (O-SCC). We performed a clinico-pathological estimation of 38 patients with O-SCC and determined the more valuable factors in making a prognosis. The mean serum concentration of TNF-alpha for the patients with O-SCC (14.13 +/- 13.17 pg/ml) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the healthy controls (3.49 +/- 2.97 pg/ml). The mean serum concentrations of TNF-alpha were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the good-prognosis group (16.73 +/- 18.64 pg/ml) than in the poor-prognosis group (9.62 +/- 5.92 pg/ml). The survival curve revealed a better prognosis for patients with serum TNF-alpha-positive than for patients with serum TNF-alpha negative. There was a significant correlation (p < 0.05) with serum TNF-alpha levels and two tumor markers (SCCA, IAP). These results of the present study suggest that a evaluation of serum TNF-alpha levels in O-SCC is a valuable tool as a tumor marker for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitoring of O-SCC.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyushu Dental College, Kitakyushu, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kajiyama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha