title: Postoperative peak serum C-reactive protein is a predictor of outcome following liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of inflammation, may correlate with prognosis in several malignancies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the prognostic impact of early postoperative peak serum levels of CRP on tumor-specific outcome in 106 liver transplant patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In multivariate Cox regression analysis, a posttransplant elevated peak CRP level (>versus ≤ 3.5 mg/dl) was identified as an independent predictor of poor recurrence-free survival (p = 0.01; HR = 4.04; CI = 1.399-11.640).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early postoperative serum CRP may serve as a useful inflammation-based biomarker of outcome in liver transplant patients with HCC.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgery, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Technical University , Munich , Germany .
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kornberg
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgery, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Technical University , Munich , Germany .
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Witt
authors.affiliation: b Department of Anaesthesiology , Klinikum Großhadern, LMU Munich , Germany .
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kornberg
authors.affiliation: c Department of Surgery, University of Jena , Jena , UK , and.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgery, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Technical University , Munich , Germany .
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Friess
authors.affiliation: d Institute of Pathology , Helios Klinikum, Berlin , Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thrum
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: Inflammation; Milan criteria; ischemia-reperfusion injury; liver transplantation; tumor recurrence