[Clinical value of SCC-antigen, a subfraction of tumor antigen TA-4, in the management of cervical cancer].

The present study shows the clinical values of SCC-Antigen, a subfraction of TA-4, for the management of squamous cell carcinoma. Serum SCC-Antigen levels of 2.0 ng/ml was designated as the cut-off value. Serum antigen levels were positive in 53.5% of cervical squamous cell carcinoma, and the changes in serum antigen levels reflected the disease progress. The antigen was also positive in cancer of vagina, vulva, lung or esophagus. To detect the early cervical cancer, flow cytometric analysis of the exfoliative cells was conducted, using anti-TA-4 serum, which was found to be particularly useful for the detection of early disease. It was concluded that the use of SCC-Antigen would be promising in clinical care.