Clinical Usefulness of Tumor-Associated Antigen TA-4 In Cancer of the Uterine Cervix

Abstract

To evaluate the clinical usefulness of tumor antigen TA-4 as a tumor marker in cervical cancer, serum TA-4 level was measured in 62 normal female subjects. 70 patients with cervical cancer and 49 patients with various benign or malignant gynecologic diseases. Mean serum TA-4 level in normal subjects was 0.42 ±0.22 ng/ml, and postive value was considered to be greater than 1.5 ng/ml. The pretreatment positive rate of serum TA-4 was 42% in cervical squamous cell carcinoma, none in cervical adenocarcinoma. 33% in ovarian cancer, 10% in cervical dysplasia and none in other diseases. In cervical squamous cell carcinoma, the mean value of individual serum TA-4 as well as the percentage of patients with positive TA-4 were positively related to clinical stage based on the FIGO system and to the extent of tumor based on the Meigs- Brunschwing surgical staging, and they were significantly higher in keratinizing type and large cell non - keratinizing type than those in small cell type (p<0.05). Elevated serum TA-4 level returned to normal after complete tumor resection so rapidly that 90% of cases showed normal values on second postoperative day and all showed normal values on sixth postoperative day. These results indicate that (1) the specificity of TA-4 is high. (2) there is some sensitivity of this antigen to cervical squamous cell carcinoma, (3) it is of limited value to use this antigen for screening the disease. (4) but it would be a useful tool in the detection of recurrence, in predicting the extent of disease and in monitoring the response of tumor to therapy in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.