ABSTRACT
Background: hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC] is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and it is one of the major causes of death, because of its high frequency and poor prognosis. Hepatocellular carcinoma is now a common malignancy in Egypt which usually develops on top of liver cirrhosis secondary to viral infection, as hepatitis C viruses increased the risk of HCC in the Egyptian patients
Aim of the Work: was to verify the possibility of using the plasma squamous cell carcinoma antigen level as a tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma and to evaluate its prognostic value in management of HCC
Patients and Methods: the study included 60 subjects divided into three groups: group I was 30 patients with hepatocellular carcinomas, group II was 15 patients with liver cirrhosis and group III was 15 normal subjects serving as a control group
Results: the plasma SCCA level was significantly higher in group I patients [with HCC], than in the group II patients [cirrhosis] and control group. SCCA showed direct significant correlation with the most of laboratory data specially AST, INR, number and size of lesion
Conclusion: plasma SCCA is a sensitive and specific serum marker for the diagnosis of HCC and combination of AFP and SCCA in screening and diagnosis of HCC yielded a better sensitivity in diagnosis of HCC