title: The systemic inflammatory response predicts overall and cancer specific survival in patients with malignant lymphoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The value of C-reactive protein concentrations in the assessment of prognosis in patients with advanced lymphoma has not been clearly defined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (n = 108) and Hodgkin's lymphoma, (n = 39) and who had measurements of C-reactive protein were studied retrospectively and the data was reviewed over 8 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median survival, from the time of sampling, was 7.4 months. On univariate analysis there was a significant relationship between the duration of cancer specific survival and tumour type (p < 0.05), circulating concentrations of albumin (p < 0.001) and C-reactive protein (p < 0.001). In contrast, only C-reactive protein concentration was a predictor of death from intercurrent disease (p < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, C-reactive protein concentration remained a strong independent predictor of both death from cancer and intercurrent disease (p < 0.001). The hazard ratio associated with a unit increase in stratified C-reactive protein concentration was 8.18 (95% CI 4.80 - 13.95) for cancer specific death and 2.11 (95% CI 1.22 - 3.64) for intercurrent death.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study demonstrate that patients with advanced lymphoma have evidence of a systemic inflammatory response and the magnitude of the C-reactive protein response predicts the duration of overall and cancer specific survival.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Surgery, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, United Kingdom. manzoor_elahi@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Maqsood M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Elahi
authors.forename: Donald C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: McMillan
authors.forename: Colin S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: McArdle
authors.forename: Wilson J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Angerson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soukop
authors.forename: Jennie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Johnstone
authors.forename: Naveed
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sattar
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein