Background:
Procalcitonin (PCT) is a sensitive inflammatory marker and is most valuable in the differentiation of bacterial infection in severely ill patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the value of PCT in documenting the inflammatory status of colorectal cancer patients in relation to established markers.

Material and Methods:
32 men and 22 women with mean age 71±11.02 years old were prospectively enrolled in this study. The preoperative value of PCT in the serum was determined by immunofluorescence assay which measures the procalcitonin within 18 min The normal price was set at 0.046 ng / ml and clinically significant values were >0.5 ng / ml. CRP, ESR and white blood cells count were also measured in the same blood sample.

Result:
Statistical analysis showed a significant positive correlation between the PCT and inflammatory markers (WBC, CRP, ESR), and the tumor marker CEA (p <0.05). Moreover, patients with distant metastases had significantly higher levels of PCT compared to patients without metastases (0.074 vs 0.043 mg / L, p <0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed a trend toward shorter overall survival in patients with elevated levels of serum PCT.

Conclusion:
PCT is a potent marker for the evaluation of inflammatory consequences of colorectal cancer. Whether this proinflammatory effect of advance colorectal cancer is due to bacterial translocation or due to the chronic inflammation of colorectal mucosa that precedes carcinogenesis remains to be elucidated.