Prognostic Role of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen in Cervical Cancer: A Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the significance of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) in the prognosis of cervical cancer. METHODS: Literature from Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library was retrieved to collect all English literature on the correlation between SCC-Ag and cervical cancer prognosis, and the quality of literature collected was assessed based on evaluation criteria. The heterogeneity, sensitivity, and specificity were detected using the StataSE12.0 software, and the correlation between SCC-Ag and cervical cancer prognosis as the effect variables was assessed using the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Moreover, the forest map and funnel plot were drawn. RESULTS: A total of 17 articles meeting the inclusion criteria were selected. The high expression of SCC-Ag was significantly correlated with the poor prognosis of cervical cancer (HR = 2.22, 95% CI = 1.38 − 3.57, P = 0.002). The disease-free survival (DFS) was higher in low SCC-Ag expression patients than in high SCC-Ag expression patients (HR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.84 − 2.57, P < 0.001). The progression-free survival (PFS) was inferior in patients with a high SCC-Ag expression (HR = 2.70, 95% CI = 1.11 − 6.53, P = 0.028). CONCLUSION: SCC-Ag is an important prognostic factor for cervical cancer, and its high expression is significantly correlated with a poor prognosis of the disease.