Artikel
Cyfra 21-1 as prognostic marker in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck
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Gliederung
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Introduction: The tumor marker potential of Cyfra 21-1 was investigated in the so far vastest cohort of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).
Method: The Cyfra 21-1 serum concentration was determined in 228 patients prior and after therapy, as well as in the regular follow-up. The prognostic potential was investigated in uni- and multivaritate analysis.
Results: The mean Cyfra 21-1 serum concentration prior to therapy was 2.1 ng/ml. After therapy, the mean serum concentration decreased to 1.2 ng/ml. In case of recurrent disease (3.0 ng/ml), locoregional metastases (2.4 ng/ml), or secondary primary tumor (2.5 ng/ml) the Cyfra 21-1 levels increased significantly. In case of distant metastases, the increase was even 6.6 ng/ml. In univariate analysis, the Cyfra 21-1 levels were of prognostic significance (p= 0.02). Because of the exponential increase of Cyfra 21-1 in case of disease progress, the logarithm of the Cyfra 21-1 levels was also taken into account. Here, we found a highly significant prognostic value of Cyfra 21-1 (p< 0.0001). In multivariate analysis, only the logarithm of the Cyfr21-1 serum levels reached prognostic significance (p= 0.001). The Cyfra 21-1 serum levels after therapy were highly prognostic significant in uni- and multivariate analysis (p< 0.0001).
Conclusions: The Cyfra 21-1 serum concentration is of great interest as tumor marker in patients with SCCHN. Further investigations in prospective and multicenter studies should be performed.
