Post-operative hs-CRP responses to surgery were modelled as change scores, subtracting the baseline hs-CRP value from the post-operative value (for both the early and persistent samples); larger change scores indicate a greater response from baseline to follow-up.
Analysis of the dynamic parameters showed that in control mice, the stance phase (the duration of contact of the injured paw with the glass plate in a step cycle) was reduced by around 50% of the pre-operative value for 2 3 weeks before a full recovery at 5 weeks.
Tumour grade, CA 15-3 and pre-operative values of CEA were without significance for relapse.
MELD score was also calculated using pre-operative values of three laboratory tests: INR for prothrombin time, serum total bilirubin and serum creatinine[ 12].
Likewise as for DFS, grading, CA 15-3 and the pre-operative values of CEA were without influence on death from disease.
While only a half of the studies (5/11) reported pre- and post-operative values, the outcomes of trials only reporting post-operative values were similar to the post-operative results in the studies that reported pre- and post operative values.
In contrast to CA 15-3, the CEA decrease alone, independent from the level of the pre-operative value, was a strong predictor for early relapse and death of breast cancer.
Kaplan Meier curves for DFS and DFD are shown for the combination of pre-operative value and post-operative decrease of CEA and CA 15-3, respectively.
This is supported by the finding that four [ 11, 25, 26, 29] of five British studies had pre-operative values within the British normative range for men and women [ 36] and three [ 19, 20, 24] of five North American studies were within the American normative range [ 30].
Three studies gave descriptive statistics for pre- and post-operative values [ 10, 15, 17].
These data represent the ratio of pre-operative mRNA to post-operative mRNA; the preoperative value divided by the post-operative value.
