The purpose of this investigation was to determine the serum concentration of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) in women with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. Serum samples were obtained from 38 Japanese women with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix before initial treatment (12 in stage 0, 7 in stage I, 5 in stage II, 9 in stage III and 5 in stage IV), 7 patients with a recurrence of this cancer, and 18 healthy female volunteers. Serum sVCAM-1 was measured with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum concentrations (means+/-SD) of sVCAM-1 in the healthy volunteers, the patients with cervical cancer in stages 0-IV and in the patients with recurrent tumors were 597.2+/-151.4, 690.1+/-214.2, 1,234.8+/-466.1, 1,159.8+/-825.8, 1,529.6+/-662.0, 1,053.0+/-228.8, and 1,134.8+/-211.3 ng/ml, respectively. Values for patients with stages I-IV or recurrent cervical cancer were significantly increased compared to those for healthy volunteers (p < 0.05). Results suggest that sVCAM-1 is shed from endothelial cells in the cancerous tissue.