CRP and cancer: Patients with cancer had higher SAPS II score (52 vs. 44, p < 0.001), higher levels of CRP (16 vs. 12 mg/dL, p = 0.006) and D-dimer (6.5 vs. 3.6 mg/L, p = 0.04), and lower platelet count (114 vs. 153 K/μL) as compared with patients without cancer (Additional file 1: Table S6).