title: Prognostic significance of the preoperative serum C-reactive protein level in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous studies have revealed that an elevated preoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with various malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the preoperative serum CRP level in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled 144 patients who underwent surgery for stage IV colorectal cancer. A total of 53 patients with a serum CRP level of ≥ 1.0 mg/dl were classified as the high CRP individuals. The association between the preoperative serum CRP level and survival was retrospectively assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cancer-specific survival of the patients with a high CRP level was significantly worse than that of the patients with a low CRP level. A multivariate analysis indicated that the curability (non-curative surgery), the number of organs with metastasis (more than one organ), the tumor diameter (≥ 5 cm), lymphatic involvement, histological differentiation (non-differentiated) and a high CRP level (≥ 1.0 mg/dl) were independent risk factors for a poor survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A high preoperative serum CRP level is a convenient biomarker for identifying patients with a poor prognosis for stage IV colorectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3 Asahi-machi Abeno-Ku, Osaka, Osaka, 545-8585, Japan, fbxbj429@ybb.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Masatsune
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shibutani
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagahara
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohtani
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishiguchi
authors.forename: Kosei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirakawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D057234:Preoperative Period; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002097:C-Reactive Protein