Investigation of ESR Values in the Diagnosis of Malignancies: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cancer is currently recognized as one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Given the limited understanding of the association between elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and solid tumors (STs), this study aimed to examine ESR values at the time of malignancy diagnosis.

This cross-sectional study utilized data extracted from the medical records of cancer patients at Shahid Baghaei-2 Hospital and Shafa Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran, from February 2020 to October 2021. Patients diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma (MM) were excluded from the analysis. The ESR values, measured during the first hour at the onset of ST diagnosis, were documented. This is because in Iranian laboratories, ESR is checked during the first hour. Subsequently, patients were categorized based on age, gender, type of malignancy, and disease stage.

Of the 428 cancer patients included, 259 (60.5%) were female. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a statistically significant difference between the type of malignancy and ESR values at the time of ST diagnosis (p = 0.02). Notably, ESR levels were significantly elevated in patients with gastric and ovarian cancers compared to other cancer types. Additionally, a significant association was observed between ESR values and disease stage (p = 0.004).

This study demonstrated that ESR levels at the time of diagnosis were significantly associated with both the type and stage of STs. Higher ESR values were particularly evident in patients with gastric and ovarian cancers, as well as those in advanced disease stages, suggesting ESR may serve as a useful prognostic indicator in cancer assessment.