Initial laboratory tests revealed leukocytosis [white blood cell count (WBC), 14,700 with 80% neutrophils], normochromic normocytic anemia [hemoglobin (Hb), 11.9 g/dL; mean corpuscular volume (MCV), 86; mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), 30 pg], and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, 103 mm/hour) and C-reactive protein (CRP+++) levels. This evidence concerns the gene CRP and anemia (phenotype).