title: Comparative evaluation of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the different histological subtypes of esophageal cancer (squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of esophagus).
abstract: Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels have been found in patients with several malignancies. The aim of the present study was to analyze the diagnostic and prognostic values of CRP levels measurement in esophageal cancer (EC) patients in relation to its different histological subtypes (squamous cell carcinoma-ESCC and adenocarcinoma-AC of esophagus) and compared them with classic tumor markers-carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and squamous cell cancer antigen (SCC-Ag). The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and the areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) for all the proteins tested were defined. Serum CRP levels were statistically higher in EC, ESCC, and AC patients compared to healthy subjects and significantly increased in EC and ESCC patients with the presence of lymph node and distant metastases. The percentage of elevated CRP results in all the analyzed subgroups (EC, ESCC, and AC) was higher than CEA and SCC-Ag, similarly as AUC for CRP in comparison to SCC-Ag. Serum CRP level was a significant predictor of EC and ESCC patients' survival in univariate analysis. In conclusion, these results indicate that CRP can be used as an adjunct in evaluating the tumor markers-CEA and SCC-Ag and may improve the clinical diagnosis and follow-up of EC patients, especially for ESCC subgroup.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University, Białystok, Poland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lukaszewicz-Zając
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mroczko
authors.forename: Mirosław
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kozłowski
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nikliński
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laudański
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siewko
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szmitkowski
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood; D019540:Area Under Curve; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D015843:Serpins / Q000097:blood; D016019:Survival Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D015843:Serpins; C051072:squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein