SERUM ACUTE-PHASE REACTANTS AND PROGNOSIS IN RENAL-CELL CARCINOMA

Background. Inflammatory parameters as acute phase proteins commonly a re elevated in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Some of these acute phase reactants have been proposed to influence survival. Methods. In 170 patients with renal cell carcinoma, the authors studied six acute phase reactant parameters (erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], C-re active protein, haptoglobin, ferritin, orosomucoid, and alpha1-antitry psin) that were compared with stage and grade. Results. The acute phas e reactants correlated well with each other and with stage and grade. All acute phase reactants separately were found to be significant prog nostic factors of survival using the log rank test. However, when a mu ltivariate Cox analysis was performed, only stage, grade, and ESR were identified as independent prognostic factors, whereas the other facto rs were not. Conclusions. The study suggests that all acute phase reac tants separately were found to be significant univariate prognostic fa ctors, but in a multivariate analysis, ESR was the only independent pr ognostic parameter far survival.