title: Comparison of CYFRA 21-1 and tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) for detecting nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: CYFRA 21-1 is a tumor marker that is useful for detecting squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung. Tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) is a tumor marker that indicates tumor proliferative rate rather than tumor burden. Our aim in this study was to compare the clinical value of CYFRA 21-1 and TPS in the detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Serum levels of CYFRA 21-1 and TPS were measured in 60 patients with untreated NPC (including 36 differentiated SCC and 24 undifferentiated carcinomas) for comparison with each other. The cut-off values of CYFRA 21-1 and TPS, determined at the 95th percentile of the 43 healthy controls, were 2.50 ng/ml and 115.2 U/l, respectively. The results revealed that the mean serum values of CYFRA 21-1 (6.20 +/- 5.21 ng/ml) and TPS (153.9 +/- 17.3 U/l) in all 60 NPC patients were significantly higher than that in the 43 healthy controls (CYFRA 21-1 = 1.32 + 0.50 ng/ml, TPS = 85.0 +/- 16.0 U/l) (p value < 0.05). In addition, the detecting sensitivities of CYFRA 21-1 (60.0%) and TPS (58.3%) for all 60 NPC were not significantly different (p value > 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggest that both CYFRA 21-1 and TPS are potential tumor markers for the detection of NPC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, China Medical College Hospital, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Jaan
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: Feng-Yuan
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ji-An
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Shih-Neng
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ming-Hsui
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Cbia-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053539:Keratin-19; D007633:Keratins; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D053539:Keratin-19; D010455:Peptides; C102012:antigen CYFRA21.1; C089984:tissue polypeptide specific antigen; D007633:Keratins