Link Between Elevated Inflammatory Marker and Aggressive Ovarian Cancer Phenotypes?

By: JNCCN 360 Staff
Posted: Monday, March 24, 2025

An elevated ratio of C-reactive protein to serum albumin (CRP/Alb) found prior to treatment correlated with more severe disease based on clinicopathologic parameters in patients with ovarian cancer, the results of a prospective, single-center study published in Cureus showed. Based on their study findings, Archana Barik, MD, of Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur, India, and colleagues, propose that this relationship between CRP and Alb may prove to be a worthwhile addition to routine tumor marker assessment for this type of gynecologic cancer.

The investigators analyzed complete blood cell counts, tumor markers, CRP/Alb ratios, histopathologic data, and clinicopathologic variables in 94 patients with confirmed ovarian cancer at the Tata Main Hospital in India. An ROC curve analysis explored the accuracy of the CRP/Alb ratio as well as CA-125 levels as diagnostic markers. Both CRP/Alb ratios and CA-125 levels showed statistically significant associations with the clinicopathologic parameters studied in the analysis, including age, tumor stage, grade, histologic type, ascites, lymph node involvement, and metastasis.

A CRP/Alb ratio cutoff value was determined to be 1.08 (AUC = 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.59–0.80; P < .001) using the presence of metastasis as an endpoint. The optimal CA-125 cutoff value was determined to be 671.5 (AUC = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.74–0.91; P < .001) with the same endpoint. Based on these values, 40 patients had a high CRP/Alb ratio and demonstrated significantly increased chances of having a higher tumor stage (P < .001), lymph node involvement (P < .001), ascites (P = .004), and tumor grade (P < .001).

“The CRP/Alb ratio’s advantages include ease of measurement, ready availability, and standardization. Its correlation with aggressive disease phenotypes, as evidenced here and in previous studies, suggests its potential use in early screening, enabling preoperative treatment modification,” the study authors suggested.

Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.

Cureus

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