The Role of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) as a Prognostic Biomarker in Patients with Early Breast Cancer (EBC) Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NACT)

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase reactant influenced by inflammation and tissue damage. Elevated CRP levels have been associated with poor outcome of various cancers including breast cancer. However, evidence regarding a potential impact of CRP levels on outcome of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients with early breast cancer (EBC) is insufficient. Methods: Patients who had received NACT for EBC and had available data regarding CRP levels before therapy, pathologic complete remission (pCR) and follow-up were included. The association between CRP at baseline and outcome parameters was analyzed. Results: 152 women were included in this analysis, median follow up was 5.8 years. No association between CRP at baseline and pCR rates could be detected. 6.6% of the patients developed a local recurrence, 10.5% developed a distant recurrence and 5.2% died from breast cancer. A negative correlation (Spearman-Rho) between CRP at baseline and overall survival (OS) (Correlation coefficient (CC) -0.255; p = 0.45), disease free survival (DFS)(CC -0.348; p = 0.075), local recurrence free survival (LRFS)(CC -0.245; p = 0.327) and distant disease free survival (DDFS)(CC -0.422; p = 0.057) was not statistically significant, although especially in DFS and DDFS a strong trend was detected. The probability of death from breast cancer was 2% if the CRP was 2.08 mg/dl, this association was highly statistically significant (Chi Square; p
Source: Breast Care - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research