Prognostic value of pre-therapy C-reactive protein level in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a meta-analysis

The current meta-analysis was conducted aiming to explore the association between pre-therapy CRP and DLBCL survival outcomes. We retrieved previously published studies available from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Wanfang databases, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases by June 2017. A total of 12 studies composed of 3000 patients were included in this study according to our selection criteria. The pooled HRs of elevated pre-therapy CRP were 2.66 (95% CI = 1.95-3.64, p < .001) for OS while 2.19 (95% CI = 1.72-2.78, p < .001) for PFS. Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis indicated that CRP remained a prognostic biomarker for OS and PFS. The pooled HR was 3.01 (95% CI = 2.38-3.81, p < .001) for OS if excluding 3 heterogeneous studies, and the heterogeneity decreased from 59.6% to 11.2%. Our study revealed that pre-therapy CRP can be a potential prognostic marker for patients with DLBCL.