Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen in the Follow-up of Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

Objective: to determine if the tumor marker squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) observed over time may contribute to the early detection of recurrence, metastasis, and second primary tumors in the follow-up of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Study Design: A retrospective analysis of patients with HNSCC and at least one SCC-Ag measurement was conducted. Hazard ratios (HRs) were used to determine the correlation between SCC-Ag and an event.

Setting: patients with HNSCC, treated in the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital in The Netherlands between 2010 and 2020 were used for the analysis.

Methods: Data from 789 patients were used on event-free survival (EFS) with time-dependent Cox models. In addition to current (most recent) SCC-Ag (also dichotomized into high and low as done for clinical practice), average SCC-Ag and change between SCC-Ag measurements (delta SCC-Ag) were considered, using restricted cubic splines to explore nonlinear relationships.

Results: Dichotomized SCC-Ag values (HR = 3.01, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.17-4.18) and the delta SCC-Ag (HR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.07-1.22) predicted EFS better than models using the cumulative average or current value of SCC-Ag, also after adjusting for tumor site, stage, age, and gender. A strong association was observed when using delta SCC-Ag as a linear predictor in the subgroup of oropharynx patients (HR = 4.88, 95% CI: 2.71-8.79).

Conclusion: Dichotomized and delta SCC-Ag values can be important markers for EFS, during the follow-up of patients treated for HNSCC. These results were more evident in patients with oropharyngeal cancer.