Many doctors believe that increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) is associated with adverse outcomes in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) treated with docetaxel.
C-reactive protein is a protein found in the blood, the levels of which rise in response to inflammation in any part of the body. Traditionally measuring levels of c-reactive protein is useful in the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, some forms of arthritis and autoimmune diseases, pelvic inflammatory disease, coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease.
In an attempt to confirm the possible role of c-reactive protein in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) a study was Presented by R. Prins, MD, at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Baseline serum samples from 119 CRPC patients enrolled in 6 phase I or II clinical trials were retrospectively analyzed. Ninety-one percent (91%) of patients had metastases and sixteen percent (16%) had prior chemotherapy exposure. Median follow-up was 19.7 months and 89% of the subjects had died. In a multivariate model CRP (HR 1.09, p=0.036) was independently asso