Inflammatory Indicator Analysis in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the leading causes of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide, closely associated with chronic inflammation. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate peripheral inflammatory indicators, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and Systemic Immune Inflammation Index (SII), and their associations with clinicopathological characteristics in CRC patients. Methods: Clinical data from 281 patients diagnosed with CRC and 315 healthy individuals were collected at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between January 2021 and January 2022. Peripheral inflammatory indicators, including white blood cell (WBC) counts, neutrophil counts (NE), platelet counts (PLT), lymphocyte counts (LY), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), were measured. The NLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and SII were calculated accordingly. Statistical analyses, including ROC curve analysis and logistic regression, were conducted to evaluate associations between inflammatory indicators and clinical parameters. Results: Compared to healthy individuals, CRC patients showed significantly elevated WBC, NEs, PLTs, Hs-CRP, NLR, and SII levels, while LY counts were significantly lower. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that Hs-CRP had the largest area under the curve (AUC), suggesting superior discriminatory potential among tested inflammatory indicators. Notably, WBC, NLR, and SII values were positively correlated with tumor diameter. Logistic regression analyses further identified NLR and SII as independent risk factors for increased tumor diameter. Conclusions: Colorectal cancer patients exhibited significant elevations in peripheral inflammatory markers such as WBC, NEs, PLTs, Hs-CRP, NLR, and SII compared to healthy controls. Among these, NLR and SII were independently associated with tumor size in CRC. However, these inflammatory indicators alone are insufficient for screening or early detection and should be used in combination with traditional clinical biomarkers for improved clinical risk stratification.