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CRP Levels Linked to Melanoma Outcomes

Inflammatory marker associated with survival rates

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an independent prognostic marker in patients with melanoma, associated with both overall survival and melanoma-specific survival, a study of 1,144 patients with melanoma reports.

Investigators took 2 independent sets of plasma samples, 587 initial and 557 confirmatory samples, and found elevated CRP is associated with poorer overall survival and melanoma-specific survival in all analyses, with levels less than 10 mg/L having better disease-free survival rates in those with stage I/II disease and overall survival at any stage.

The hazard ratios for overall survival and melanoma-specific survival are 1.44 and 1.51 per unit increase of logarithmic CRP, respectively.

Citation: Fang S, Wang Y, Sui D, et al. C-reactive protein as a marker of melanoma progression. J Clin Oncol. 2015;33(12):1389-1396. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2014.58.0209.