A series of inflammatory biomarkers, such as the neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), albumin level, c-reactive protein (CRP) level, modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), and CRP/albumin ratio, have been identified to predict clinical outcomes in several cancer types, including esophageal cancer (Feng, Huang & Chen, 2014; Lindenmann et al., 2014; Pinato et al., 2014; Stotz et al., 2013; Templeton et al., 2014; Yodying et al., 2016). Here, CRP is linked to cancer.