Prognostic Inflammation Score in Surgical Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Inflammation Research
• Surgical Pathology

Background:

• Inflammatory markers show promise as prognostic indicators in various cancers.
• Colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis can be influenced by systemic inflammation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate common inflammatory markers for prognostic significance in CRC.
• To develop and assess a prognostic inflammation score (PIS) for improved CRC patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 265 CRC patients undergoing curative resection.
• Assessment of preoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cell count (WBC), and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR).
• Uni- and multivariate survival analyses for disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).

Main Results:

• CRP, ESR, and NLR were significant univariate predictors of DFS and DSS.
• CRP and NLR independently predicted DSS and DFS, respectively, in multivariate analysis.
• The combined PIS (CRP + NLR) significantly predicted both DFS and DSS, outperforming individual markers.

Conclusions:

• The PIS, combining CRP and NLR, is a potent independent prognostic variable for CRC patients.
• PIS demonstrates superior prognostic power compared to individual markers like CRP and NLR for survival outcomes.
• This score offers valuable prognostic information regardless of pathological variables in resected CRC.