CRP and colorectal cancer: Indeed, there is evidence that the systemic inflammatory response (as evidenced by C-reactive protein) predicts recurrence (McMillan et al, 1995), overall (Nielsen et al, 2000; McMillan et al, 2003) and cancer-specific (McMillan et al, 2003) survival, independent of stage, in patients who have undergone curative resection for colorectal cancer.