Purpose: Inflammation is closely related to cancer development and progression. This retrospective study investigated the prognostic value of the combination of pre- and postoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).
Methods: The subjects of this study were 406 patients who underwent surgery for CRC.
Results: Based on receiver-operating characteristic analysis, patients were divided into the following groups: those with a preoperative CRP of ≥ 0.5 mg/dL (pre-CRPHigh), those with a preoperative CRP of < 0.5 mg/dL (pre-CRPLow), those with a postoperative CRP of ≥ 17.0 mg/dL (post-CRPHigh), and those with a postoperative CRP of < 17.0 mg/dL (post-CRPLow). They were then allocated to one of the following three groups: Group A, comprised of those in the pre-CRPHigh and post-CRPHigh groups; Group B, comprised of those in either the pre-CRPHigh and post-CRPLow or pre-CRPLow and post-CRPHigh groups; and Group C, comprised of those in the pre-CRPLow and post-CRPLow groups. The disease-specific 5-year survival rates were 53.8%, 72.8%, and 87.2% in Groups A, B, and C, respectively, and these differences were significant. Finally, multivariate analysis revealed that the combination of pre- and postoperative CRP levels was an independent prognostic indicator.
Conclusions: The combination of pre- and postoperative CRP was predictive of the prognosis of CRC patients.
Keywords: C-reactive protein; Colorectal cancer; Prognosis; Serum marker.