Clinical importance of tumour markers in the diagnosis of squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

In order to evaluate the diagnostic value of three tumour markers, CEA, CA 19-9 and TA4-scc, 50 patients affected by squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus were studied together with 70 normal controls and 22 patients affected by benign esophageal pathologies. The three tumour markers were assessed in all patients and data were evaluated statistically in order to reveal their sensitivities, specificities and diagnostic values. It was concluded that further studies should be carried out on the marker TA4-scc given its high specificity and sensitivity towards esophageal neoplasias at a relatively early stage.