Inflammatory Markers Predict Risk of Morbidity and Mortality

Inflammatory markers are known to be associated with cancer, chronic heart disease and other serious health conditions; however, the marker that is most useful in predicting these diseases continues to be debated.

A new study looking at deaths from cancer, cardiovascular disease and all causes suggests that an inflammatory marker detected in blood tests in middle-aged adults can better predict the risk of death compared with another similar biomarker.


Scientists at the Institut National De La Santé Et De La Recherche Médicale (Paris, France) and their colleagues analyzed data for 6,545 men and women aged 45 to 69 (mean 55.7) years from the Whitehall II cohort study. They assayed the inflammatory biomarkers α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels from fasting serum samples collected in 1997–1999 and mortality follow- up was until June 2015.

For CRP measurement, a high-sensitivity immunonephelometric assay was used in a BN ProSpec nephelometer (Dade Behring, Deerfield, IL, USA); IL-6 levels were measured with a high-sensitivity enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA); and AGP levels were measured with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as part of more complete biomarker profiling.

Over the mean follow-up of 16.7 years, 736 deaths occurred, of which 181 were from cardiovascular disease and 347 from cancer. AGP did not predict mortality beyond the first five years of follow-up while over this period; IL-6 and CRP had stronger associations with mortality. Only IL-6 predicted all-cause mortality (adjusted Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.22) and cancer-related mortality (adjusted HR 1.13), over the entire follow-up period, whereas CRP predicted only cardiovascular mortality (adjusted HR 1.30).

Archana Singh-Manoux, PhD, a professor and lead author of the study, said, “When a recent metabolomics study highlighted the importance of AGP, our question was how relevant is this marker when compared to other known inflammatory markers. The novelty of our approach lies in being able to assess risk of mortality in the short- and long-term. Our findings show IL-6, which is already known to be important to heart disease, to do better than AGP. Biomarker studies are progressing fast, and it is important to undertake checks like in the one in our study, to shape future research on biomarkers.” The study was published on November 28, 2016, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Related Links:
Institut National De La Santé Et De La Recherche Médicale
Dade Behring
R&D Systems