Key result
Elevated post-operative CRP is linked to ~72% worse overall survival in colorectal cancer.
Why the study?
Post-operative inflammation in cancer patients can be modulated by drugs and diets, but evidence on its prognostic role for personalized treatment and surveillance schemes remains limited.
Do elevated post-operative CRP-based inflammatory biomarkers predict poor survival outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer?
Meta-Analysis (n=6,079)
Do elevated post-operative CRP-based inflammatory biomarkers predict poor survival outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer?
Post-operative CRP-based inflammatory biomarkers are significant predictors of poor overall, cancer-specific, and recurrence-free survival in colorectal cancer patients.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May prompt closer post-operative monitoring in colorectal cancer; extends meta-analytic support for CRP in prognostic models.
Post-operative inflammation in cancer patients can be modulated by drugs and diets, but evidence on its prognostic role, which would be crucial for personalized treatment and surveillance schemes, remains rather limited. We aimed to systematically review and meta-analyse studies on the prognostic value of post-operative C-reactive protein (CRP)-based inflammatory biomarkers among patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) (PROSPERO#: CRD42022293832). PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched until February 2023. Studies reporting associations between post-operative CRP, Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) or modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) with overall survival (OS), CRC-specific survival (CSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were included. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the predictor-outcome associations were pooled using R-software, version 4.2. Sixteen studies (n = 6079) were included in the meta-analyses. Elevated post-operative CRP was a predictor of poor OS, CSS and RFS compared with low CRP levels [HR (95% CI): 1.72 (1.32-2.25); 1.63 (1.30-2.05); 2.23 (1.44-3.47), respectively]. A unit increase in post-operative GPS predicted poor OS [HR (95% Cl): 1.31 (1.14-1.51)]. Moreover, a unit increase in post-operative mGPS was associated with poor OS and CSS [HR (95% Cl): 1.93 (1.37-2.72); 3.16 (1.48-6.76), respectively]. Post-operative CRP-based inflammatory biomarkers have a significant prognostic role for patients with CRC. Prognostic value of these easy-to-obtain routine measurements thereby seems to outperform most of the much more complex blood- or tissue-based predictors in the current focus of multi-omics-based research. Future studies should validate our findings, establish optimal time for biomarker assessment and determine clinically useful cut-off values of these biomarkers for post-operative risk-stratification and treatment-response monitoring.
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Gwenzi et al. (2023) conducted a meta-analysis in Colorectal cancer (n=6,079). Elevated post-operative CRP vs. Low CRP levels was evaluated on Overall survival (OS) (HR 1.72, 95% CI 1.32-2.25). Elevated post-operative CRP was a significant predictor of poor overall survival compared with low CRP levels (HR 1.72; 95% CI 1.32-2.25) in patients with colorectal cancer.
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