Purpose: Infectious diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. Tumor-induced inflammatory responses may increase the value of classical inflammatory markers in blood, so these markers may not be as useful in cancer patients as in non-cancer patients. Serum procalcitonin (PCT) is a sensitive and specific biomarker for severe infection, and has been shown to be unaffected by tumor-induced inflammatory response. In this study we aimed to evaluate the possible role of PCT in mortality in cancer patients with infection.
Methods: In total, 104 consecutive adult cancer patients who presented with fever (body temperature ≥ 38.3° C or ≥ 38° C on two consecutive measurements) during follow-up and needing hospitalization for infection were enrolled in this study.
Results: The majority (72%) of the patients were male. The most common diagnosis and type of infection were lung cancer (40.4%) and pneumonia (56.7%), respectively. The overall mortality rate was 17%. Statistical analysis showed a significant relationship between PCT levels and mortality (p=0.001), but not between classical inflammatory markers and mortality (p>0.05). The mortality rate of patients with a PCT value > 2 ng/mL was 34.3%, compared with 9.6% in patients with a PCT below this value (p=0.005). Furthermore, PCT predicted in-ward cancer patient mortality with a sensitivity of 66% and a specificity of 76%.
Conclusion: PCT is a unique serum biomarker significantly related to infection-related mortality and predicts mortality with a relatively high sensitivity and specificity.