Heart Disease Marker May Predict Prostate Cancer's Course

Patients with higher levels of C-reactive protein fared worse, study found

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

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FRIDAY, June 1 (HealthDay News) -- A protein that is used as a marker of heart disease may also predict survival odds and response to chemotherapy for men with advanced prostate cancer.

There is already a simple blood test available for the protein, called C-reactive protein (CRP), which is produced by the liver and is elevated in the presence of inflammation.

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"If a second study is confirmatory, then we have a readily available blood test that could now be used to inform physicians and patients what they can expect from the cancer, which is important in planning treatment," said study senior author Dr. Tomasz Beer, director of the prostate cancer research program at the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute.

The findings are expected to be presented June 1 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.

Over the last several years, investigators have begun looking at the role of CRP in a range of cancers. "There's a growing body of information that suggests that inflammation may be an important driver of cancer progression," Beer explained.

Smaller studies have suggested that higher CRP levels were associated with a worse prognosis specifically in prostate cancer patients. This study appears to be the first to look at a large number of prostate cancer patients receiving modern chemotherapy.

"This is the first such solid report from a large patient set," Beer said.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is widely used as a marker for prostate cancer, but it has limitations. "There are a number of patients with very aggressive prostate cancer who don't make a lot of PSA. PSA sometimes isn't helpful in assessing people who have really aggressive disease," said Dr. Naomi Haas, a medical oncologist of genitourinary malignancies at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. "Sometimes there's a rise in PSA but we see a clinical improvement overall. So, doctors are busy looking at other options."

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