Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran (MJIRI)

  Abstract

  Background : Cancer has not been elucidated in colerectal site. C-reactive protein

  (CRP) is a product synthesized in hepatocytes and has been reported to be up-regulated

  by such proinflammatory cytokines as interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6),

  and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). The significance of a preoperative serum elevation

  was evaluated using CRP as a predictive indicator for the malignant potential and

  prognosis.

  Methods: Forty consecutive patient with colorectal cancer whose local lesions

  were resected in our department, plus forty healthy volunteers, were selected. Any

  patient with inflammatory diseases such as infection or collagen disease was excluded

  from the current study. The preoperative serum CRP level and the control group

  were measured. The relationships between the serum elevation of CRP and both the

  clinicopathologic factors and prognosis of the patients was investigated.

  Results: The rate of patients with elevated serum CRP level was significantly

  higher in the colorectal cancer patients in comparison to the control group (55% versus

  2.5%). Furthermores the incidence of liver metastasis, peritoneal carcinomatosis,

  histopathologic lymph nodes metastasis, and tumor invasion in colorectal cancer patients

  with a preoperatively elevated serum CRP level were significantly more frequent

  than in those with a negative serum CRP level. The survival rates of the colorectal

  cancer patients without a preoperative elevation of the serum CRP proved to

  be significantly more favorable than that of the colorectal cancer patients with such

  an elevation (94.4% versus 59.1% P<0.001).

  Conclusion: Apreoperative serum elevation of CRP was thus found to be an indicator

  of the malignant potential of the tumor as well as prognostic factor for patients

  with colorectal cancer.