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C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and the risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

Many studies have evaluated the associations between pre-diagnostic circulating C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and colorectal cancer risk, but their results are inconsistent. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to investigate these associations.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search up to October 2013 was undertaken in PubMed. Pooled relative risk (RR) estimates and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to calculate estimated effect.

Results

Eighteen studies on CRP comprising a total of 4,706 colorectal cancer cases were included in this meta-analysis. The summary RR of colorectal cancer for one unit change in natural logarithm (ln) CRP was 1.12 [95 % CI (1.05–1.21)]. There was statistically significant heterogeneity among studies (p = 0.006; I 2 = 51.7 %). After excluding the studies contributing most to the heterogeneity, summary estimate was essentially unchanged. In addition, the association was significant for colon cancer [RR = 1.13, 95 % CI (1.05–1.21)], not for rectal cancer [RR = 1.03, 95 % CI (0.90–1.17)]. We also found that CRP was significantly associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer among men, but not among women. There were six studies on IL-6 that involved a total of 1,068 colorectal cancer cases. The pooled RR of colorectal cancer for one unit change in ln IL-6 was 1.10 (95 % CI 0.88–1.36), and no statistically significant heterogeneity was found (p = 0.175; I 2 = 34.8 %).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that pre-diagnostic circulating CRP is associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer. However, there is no significant association between IL-6 and colorectal cancer risk.

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Conflict of interest

The authors indicated no potential conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 210009, China

    Bo Zhou, Jue Yang, Tao Xi & Yingying Xing

  2. Jiangsu Center of Safety Evaluation for Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing, 210009, China

    Bo Zhou, Bin Shu & Jing Liu

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  1. Bo Zhou
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Correspondence to Yingying Xing.

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Bo Zhou and Bin Shu have contributed equally to this work.

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Zhou, B., Shu, B., Yang, J. et al. C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and the risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis. Cancer Causes Control 25, 1397–1405 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0445-8

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