Increased C-reactive protein implies a poorer stage-specific prognosis in colon cancer.

To characterize the stage-specific prognostic relevance of preoperative systemic inflammatory response, defined by C-reactive protein (CRP), in colon cancer (CC) patients.Data from CC patients operated on from 1998 to 2007 at three hospitals from three different Nordic countries were collected retrospectively from national registries, local databases and/or patient records. Patients with emergency surgery, infection or auto-immune disease were excluded. Associations between clinical or histopathological variables and CRP were assessed. Patients were followed from the date of surgery to death or end of follow-up. Disease-specific survival (DSS) was the main endpoint.In total, 525 patients wi…