CRP and neoplasm: The gradual loss of prognostic ability of the baseline CRP may occur because (a) some patients, with high initial CRP value, for unknown reasons, responded to chemotherapy better than others, (b) in patients with oesophageal squamous cell cancer, CRP polymorphism may gradually modify tumour progression (Motoyama et al, 2009), and/or (c) correlation between the baseline CRP and its current values decreases over time.