Circulating SCCA-IgM complex is a useful biomarker to predict the outcome of therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops in about 3-4% of cirrhotic patients every year. The squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) has been found elevated in liver cancer specimens by immunohistochemistry, and detected in complex with IgM (SCCA-IgM) in the serum of patients with HCC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of serological SCCA-IgM levels to predict the efficacy of HCC therapy.Materials and methods: From April 2012 to April 2014, 131 patients with a new diagnosis of HCC were enrolled. The HCC diagnosis was made according to the EASL guidelines. The patients were staged and treated according to the BCLC Staging System: BCLC stages A and B were treated with locoregional therapy, and BCLC stage C was treated with Sorafenib. Response to therapy was evaluated according to the mRECIST criteria. Serum SCCA-IgM levels were determined by a commercially available ELISA kit at basal time (T-0) and after one month of treatment (T-1).Results: At baseline and one month into therapy, SCCA-IgM levels were significantly lower (p value <.05) in patients who responded to therapy compared to those who did not respond (median SCCA-IgM level [25th+75th percentile] at T-0:115.1AU/mL [50.0+174.4] vs. 149.1AU/mL [111.3+198.8]; median SCCA-IgM level [25th+75th percentile] at T-1: 113.4AU/mL [50.0+194.2] vs. 170.6AU/mL [111.7+344.2]).Conclusion: Our study suggests that the SCCA-IgM determination could be helpful in predicting the response to therapy in patients with HCC.