In a first aspect thereof, the present invention provides a method for
treatment and/or prevention of a disease selected from the group
consisting of psoriasis and squamous cell carcinoma by inhibiting the
expression of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) by cells. In another
aspect thereof, the present invention provides a method for screening for
substances that inhibit epidermal parakeratosis, wherein the activity of
a candidate substance that inhibits cysteine protease inhibitory activity
possessed by squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 (SCCA-1) is used as an
indicator.