The combination of C-reactive protein (>3mg/L), albumin and neutrophil count had an area under the curve for all-cause mortality of 0.723 (95% CI 0.717–0.729, p<0.001), cancer mortality of 0.731 (95% CI 0.722–0.740, p<0.001), cardiovascular mortality of 0.650 (95% CI 0.633–0.668, p<0.001) and cerebrovascular mortality of 0.623 (95% CI 0.599–0.646, p<0.001). The gene discussed is ALB; the disease is cancer.