title: Application of tumor markers SCC-Ag, CEA, and TPA in patients with cervical precancerous lesions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To determine the potential clinical utility of tumor markers CEA, TPA, and SCC-Ag for early detection of cervical precancerous lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case-control study was carried out on 120 women (46 patients with histologically confirmed cervical precancerous lesions and 74 healthy controls). The significance of serum selected tumor markers in early detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the case group, the rates of CIN I, II, III, was 69.6%, 23.9%, and 6.5%, respectively. According to the manufacturer's cut-off values of 2 ng/ml, 5 ng/ml, and 70 U/ml for SCC-Ag, CEA and TPA tests, in that order, SCC-Ag test had a sensitivity of 13%, but CEA and TPA tests could not distinguish between case and control groups. The diagnostic sensitivities were highest at cut-off values of 0.55 ng/ml for SCC-Ag, 2.6 ng/ ml for CEA, and 25.5 U/ml for TPA which were 93%, 61%, and 50%, respectively. However, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was the largest for SCC-Ag (0.95 vs. 0.61 and 0.60 for CEA and TPA, respectively). Moreover, there was a highly significant direct correlation between SCC-Ag concentration and the degree of cervical precancerous lesions (r=0.847, p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The new cutoff of 0.5 for SCC-Ag test might be useful as a tumor marker in Iranian patients with CIN and it needs to be more evaluated by studies with larger populationa.
authors.affiliation: Preventive Gynecology Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran E-mail : farahzaneh@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Farzaneh
authors.forename: Shapour
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahghassempour
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Noshine
authors.forename: Maliheh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arab
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yaseri
authors.forename: Mitra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rafizadeh
authors.forename: Kamyab
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alizadeh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D015843:Serpins / Q000097:blood*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019396:Tissue Polypeptide Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D015843:Serpins; D019396:Tissue Polypeptide Antigen; C051072:squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen