title: The association between preoperative serum C-reactive protein and hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection--a retrospective study.
abstract: The prognosis of the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence following curative hepatectomy is usually dismal. Whether preoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) can predict the recurrence of HCC in patients with chronic HBV infection is not clear. Total 232 patients with chronic HBV infection were included in this retrospective study. We investigated the association between detailed preoperative serum CRP levels and early (≤ 2 year) and late (> 2 year) HCC recurrence following curative hepatectomy. After adjusting for potential confounders, we found a saturation effect for preoperative serum CRP of 2.1 mg/dl existed for early HCC recurrence (ER). The incidence of ER increased with preoperative serum CRP less than 2.1 mg/dl (OR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.6-7.6, P = 0.001), and higher preoperative serum CRP (>2.1 mg/dl) did not increase the incidence of ER (OR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.2-2.7, P = 0.703). Whereas there is a linear relationship between preoperative serum CRP and late HCC recurrence (LR) (OR = 0.2, 95% CI, 0.1- 0.4) (OR = 1.8, 95% CI, 1.2-2.5, P = 0.002). In addition, the optimal cutoff point for serum CRP level was 1.5 mg/dl, instead of 1.0 mg/dl, in predicting both ER and LR. Patients with higher preoperative serum CRP level (>1.5 mg/dl) had lower recurrence free survival rates and overall survival rates (P<0.01). These results suggest that preoperative serum CRP played different roles on ER and LR following curative hepatectomy, thus further predicting the prognosis in patients with chronic HBV infection.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Jinan and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 106 Jiwei Road, Jinan City, Shandong Province, 250022, China; Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, 440 Jiyan Road, Jinan City, Shandong Province, 250117, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, 440 Jiyan Road, Jinan City, Shandong Province, 250117, China.
authors.forename: Jingyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, 440 Jiyan Road, Jinan City, Shandong Province, 250117, China.
authors.forename: Bobo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, 440 Jiyan Road, Jinan City, Shandong Province, 250117, China.
authors.forename: Shuguang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, 440 Jiyan Road, Jinan City, Shandong Province, 250117, China.
authors.forename: Daotang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein