Inflammation-based prognostic system predicts survival after surgery for stage IV colorectal cancer

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to estimate whether the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) is useful for predicting the survival of patients after surgery for stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC).MethodsThe GPS was calculated on the basis of admission data as follows: patients with both an increased C-reactive protein (CRP) level (>1.0 mg/dL) and hypoalbuminemia (<3.5 g/dL) were allocated a score of 2, and patients showing one or none of these abnormalities were allocated a score of 1 or 0, respectively.ResultsA total of 108 patients with stage IV CRC were enrolled. Although multivariate analyses showed that tumor pathology, subclass of stage IV CRC, and the GPS were associated with overall survival, the GPS could divide the patients into 3 independent groups showing significant differences in postoperative survival (P = .018).ConclusionsThe GPS is not only one of the most significant clinical characteristics associated with the overall survival of patients with stage IV CRC, but also a useful indicator that is capable of dividing such patients into 3 independent groups before surgery.