The value of CYFRA 21-1, a new tumor marker, in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

CYFRA 21-1 (CYFRA) is a newly-developed tumor marker which is useful in evaluating non-small cell lung carcinoma, especially the squamous cell type. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical value of CYFRA in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Serum levels of CYFRA (CIS bio-International, France) were measured in 80 patients with untreated NPC. The histologic diagnosis of all patients was confirmed by biopsy. Twenty two (27.5%) of the tumors were classified as undifferentiated carcinoma, and 58 (72.5%) as squamous cell carcinoma. All patients with malignancy were classified according to the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) TNM classification system. In addition, 77 patients without evidence of neoplasm were included as controls. The cut-off value of CYFRA, determined at the 95th percentile of the standard Gaussian variate of controls, was 2.48 ng/ml. The results show that (1) the mean values of serum CYFRA in patients with NPC were significantly higher than those in the control subjects, (2) the overall diagnostic sensitivity of CYFRA in patients with NPC is 58.75%, (3) there was no significant difference between the CYFRA concentrations in patients with squamous cell carcinoma and those in patients with undifferentiated carcinoma, and that (4) there was good correlation between CYFRA values and the tumor stage. There is a statistical difference between T1-T2 patients and T3-T4 patients, and between N0 to N1 patients and N2 to N3 patients. Our results suggest that the CYFRA test may have a potential clinical role as a valuable test in patients with NPC.