Prognostic significance of combined platelet distribution width and c-reactive protein score in esophageal cancer

Abstract

Background/Aim: The platelet distribution width (PDW) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are known to be predictive of prognosis in various malignancies. Our aim was to determine whether combining PDW and serum CRP levels produces a prognostic indicator for esophageal cancer (EC) patients. Patients and Methods: A total of 168 EC patients who underwent neoadjuvant therapy prior to esophagectomy were included in this study. Results: We defined a combined PDW and CRP (CPC) score as follows: patients with both low pretherapeutic PDW (≤12.4 fl) and high postoperative serum CRP levels (≥0.5 mg/dl) were assigned a score of 2, while patients with one or neither of those were assigned a score of 1 or 0. A multivariable analysis showed that the CPC score was a significant risk factor for overall (p=0.006) and recurrence-free (p=0.004) survival. Conclusion: The CPC score is a strong prognostic indicator in EC patients.