Objective This study investigates the expression of squamous cell carcinoma antigen(SCC-Ag) levels in patients with Uyghur oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC). Methods Serum SCC-Ag levels were measured in 90 Uyghur patients with OSCC(OSCC group), 90 Uyghur patients with other oral malignant tumors(oral malignant tumor except OSCC group), 101 Uyghur patients with oral benign tumors(benign tumor group), and 120 healthy Uyghur people(healthy group). SCC-Ag levels were measured in 60 OSCC cases and 60 cases of oral malignant tumor except OSCC before and after treatment. The significance of SCC-Ag in the diagnosis and treatment of OSCC was analyzed. Results SCC-Ag levels in OSCC group were significantly higher than in oral malignant tumor except OSCC group(P=0.002), benign tumor group(P=0.001), and healthy group(P=0.001). Serum SCC-Ag positive rate in OSCC group was 43.3% (39/90) and was significantly higher compared with the other three groups(P=0.000 1). SCC-Ag expression was higher in preoperative OSCC group in late TNM stage compared with patients in early TNM stage(P0.05). Conclusion Serum SCC-Ag levels were not highly sensitive in Uyghur patients with early-stage OSCC. However, SCC-Ag has clinical significance in the evaluation of curative effect as a predictor of tumor recurrence.
