The Diagnostic and Prognostic Role of Inflammatory Markers, Including the New Cumulative Inflammatory Index (IIC) and Mean Corpuscular Volume/Lymphocyte (MCVL), in Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer affects a large number of patients worldwide, with numerous factors being involved in its etiopathogenesis and chronic inflammation playing an essential role in tumor development. In this study, we analyzed and compared several markers of inflammation that are relatively easy to obtain for a rapid and accurate diagnosis and prognosis. Methods: This study included 219 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, analyzing the inflammation scores derived from their blood cells and inflammatory circulating proteins. These inflammatory markers are neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio-NLR; platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio-PLR; lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio-LMR; systemic immune inflammation index-SII; systemic inflammatory response index-SIRI; aggregate index of systemic inflammation-AISI; derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio-dNLR; C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio-CAR; and fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio-FAR. In the analysis of patients with colorectal cancer, we have also introduced two new recently developed inflammatory markers: the cumulative inflammatory index (IIC) and the ratio between the mean corpuscular volume and lymphocytes (MCVL). This study aimed to correlate the inflammatory markers' levels with the colorectal cancer diagnostic stage, the tumor and clinical characteristics of the colorectal cancer patients, and 36 months' survival time and to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic capacity and accuracy of these inflammatory markers in this type of cancer. Results: We showed that the levels of the analyzed inflammation markers correlate with the TNM stage, the tumor pathological differentiation grade, the age and gender of the patients, and overall survival, with their increased levels being associated with a lower survival rate. Conclusions: The analyzed markers, which are easy to perform right from the patient's admission, can be helpful both in diagnosis and, mostly, in prognosis, sustaining the role of inflammation in cancer. By comparing them, we showed which one can be useful for increased sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer patients.