TWO markers of inflammation in the blood may help doctors predict the survival chances of women with breast cancer.
Scientists measured levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) in 734 breast cancer patients 31 months after diagnosis.
They found that raised levels of the two proteins were associated with reduced survival over the next seven years.
Women whose SAA levels were in the top third of the range were three times more likely to die than those whose levels were in the bottom third.
Similarly, women with the highest third of CRP levels had a two-fold increased risk of death.
Dr Cornelia Ulrich, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, US, said: “These associations are strong and they suggest, in the long-term, elevated levels of inflammatory markers predict a woman’s chances of surviving.
“It also appears there may be a threshold effect. Only women in the highest third of inflammation markers had increased mortality.”
