ALBERT

Description: by Richard Schwameis, Christoph Grimm, Edgar Petru, Camilla Natter, Christine Staudigl, Wolfgang Lamm, Heinz Koelbl, Michael Krainer, Thomas Brodowicz, Alexander Reinthaller, Stephan Polterauer Objective C-reactive protein (CRP) has previously been shown to serve as a prognostic parameter in women with gynecologic malignancies. Due to the lack of valid prognostic markers for uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS) this study set out to investigate the value of pre-treatment CRP serum levels as prognostic parameter. Methods Data of women with ULMS were extracted from databases of three Austrian centres for gynaecologic oncology. Pre-treatment CRP serum levels were measured and correlated with clinico-pathological parameters. Univariate and multivariable survival analyses were performed. Results In total, 53 patients with ULMS were included into the analysis. Mean (SD) CRP serum level was 3.46 mg/dL (3.96). Solely, an association between pre-treatment CRP serum levels and tumor size ( p = 0.04) but no other clinic-pathologic parameter such as tumor stage ( p = 0.16), or histological grade ( p = 0.07), was observed. Univariate and multivariable survival analyses revealed that CRP serum levels ( HR 2 . 7 [1 . 1–7 . 2] , p = 0.037) and tumor stage ( HR 6 . 1 [1 . 9–19 . 5] , p = 0.002) were the only independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in patients with ULMS. Patients with high pre-treatment CRP serum levels showed impaired OS compared to women with low levels (5-year-OS rates: 22.6% and 52.3%, p = 0.007). Conclusion High pre-treatment CRP serum levels were independently associated with impaired prognosis in women with ULMS and might serve as a prognostic parameter in these patients.