Clinical Implications of C-Reactive Protein as a Prognostic Marker in Advanced Cancer Patients in Palliative Care Settings  Koji Amano, MD, Isseki Maeda, MD, PhD, Tatsuya Morita, MD, Tomofumi Miura, MD, Satoshi Inoue, MD, Masayuki Ikenaga, MD, Yoshihisa Matsumoto, MD, PhD, Mika Baba, MD, Ryuichi Sekine, MD, Takashi Yamaguchi, MD, PhD, Takeshi Hirohashi, MD, Tsukasa Tajima, MD, Ryohei Tatara, MD, Hiroaki Watanabe, MD, Hiroyuki Otani, MD, Chizuko Takigawa, MD, Yoshinobu Matsuda, MD, Hiroka Nagaoka, MD, Masanori Mori, MD, Hiroya Kinoshita, MD  Journal of Pain and Symptom Management  Volume 51, Issue 5, Pages 860-867 (May 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.11.025 Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Terms and Conditions

Fig. 1 Kaplan-Meier plot (log-rank P < 0.001). Survival curves for patients with low-CRP (CRP < 1 mg/dL) (n = 308), moderate-CRP (1 ≤ CRP < 5 mg/dL) (n = 519), high-CRP (5 ≤ CRP < 10 mg/dL) (n = 322), and very high-CRP (10 mg/dL ≤ CRP) (n = 362) groups. Survival after enrollment decreased with increasing plasma CRP level. The difference in survival rates among the four groups was statistically significant (P < 0.001). CRP = C-reactive protein. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 2016 51, 860-867DOI: (10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.11.025) Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Terms and Conditions

Fig. 2 CRP levels and mortality rate. The 30-, 60-, and 90-day mortality rates were compared among the groups. Each mortality rate increased with increasing plasma CRP level. P-values for Chi-squared tests among the groups were less than 0.001 for 30-, 60-, and 90-day mortality. The highest was for 90-day mortality, and the lowest was for 30-day mortality in each group. CRP = C-reactive protein. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 2016 51, 860-867DOI: (10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.11.025) Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Terms and Conditions