CYFRA 8/18 in head and neck cancer

Background: Cytokeratins (Ck) 8, 18 and 19 that are normally expressed in h ead and neck tissue in only, small amounts, become overexpressed in head an d neck squamous cell cancerous tissue. It was questioned whether Ck 8 and 1 8, which occur together, were also detectable and of value as a tumor marke rs for this cancer entity. Materials and methods: One hundred forty-nine se ra from patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) were investigated with a novel ELISA kit for the detection of fragments of Ck 8 and 18. Twenty-five sera from healthy volunteers and 39 patients with benign diseases of the head and neck region sewed as controls. Results: It was found that CYFRA 8/18 had a sensitivity of 7%. CYFRA 8/18 values did no t show a correlation with clinical parameters. Conclusions: Because of a lo w sensitivity CYFRA 8/18 seems not to be of value as a tumor market for SCC HN.