Impact of pre-operative serum C-reactive protein and cell-free chromatin levels on tumor aggressiveness and survival outcome in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma

We recruited 69 consecutive patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) between January 2017 and January 2019 for this study. All patients underwent up-front surgery followed by adjuvant radio- and/or chemotherapy as indicated. Pre-operative serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and cell-free chromatin (cfCh) were estimated by ELISA and post-operative histopathological features were recorded. CRP levels were significantly associated with poor histopathological features, advanced stage, bone erosion, extracapsular spread and pathological nodal status. CRP levels were not associated with survival. CfCh levels were significantly associated with bone erosion and neck nodes and patients with higher cfCh levels had significantly poor overall survival.

Automated summary

In this study, pre-operative serum levels of CRP and cfCh in patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma were found to be significantly associated with poor histopathological features and overall survival rates.