Post-treatment circulating biomarkers of inflammation and survival among stage II-III CRC patients

Biomarker studies on colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis have been limited to pre-diagnostic or pre-operative measures. A study at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle, WA) found that post-treatment levels of circulating biomarkers of inflammation (CRC, IL-6, MCP-1, adiponectin, and leptin) were associated with prognosis of stage II-III colorectal cancer patients. Elevated IL-6 was associated with five-fold increased risk of CRC-specific mortality within one year post blood draw (HR 5.02; 95% CI 2.92-8.59); this association remained statistically significant over ten years.