Validation of CRP as prognostic marker for renal cell carcinoma in a large series of patients.

Background: To evaluate the prognostic significance of the pre-operative C-reactive protein (CRP) serum level in patients with renal cell cancer (RCC).

Methods: We evaluated 1,161 RCC patients with complete patient and tumour specific characteristics as well as information about their pre-operative CRP-level, who had undergone either radical nephrectomy or nephron-sparing surgery at two German high-volume centres (University Hospitals of Hannover and Ulm). The mean follow-up was 54 months.