Table 2 CRP levels by patient, treatment characteristics, and pain status
Variable | Pre-RT CRP (mg/L) | Post-RT CRP (mg/L) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | Mean | SD | MD | P 1 | N | Mean | SD | MD | P 1 | |
Study population | 362 | 6.5 | 9.3 | 3.5 | Â | 338 | 6.1 | 8.9 | 3.5 | 0.6462 |
Race/ethnicity | ||||||||||
 NHW | 58 | 6.1 | 12.4 | 2.8 | 0.879 | 53 | 5.2 | 12.1 | 2.2 | 0.541 |
 AA | 71 | 6.9 | 8.0 | 4.4 |  | 66 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 5.5 |  |
 HW | 233 | 6.4 | 8.8 | 3.5 |  | 219 | 6.0 | 8.6 | 3.7 |  |
Age (years) | ||||||||||
 < 50 | 94 | 6.2 | 10.7 | 3.1 | 0.797 | 86 | 5.6 | 10.1 | 2.8 | 0.571 |
 ≥ 50 | 268 | 6.5 | 8.8 | 3.7 |  | 252 | 6.2 | 8.5 | 3.9 |  |
BMI (kg/m2) | ||||||||||
 < 25 | 94 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 1.2 | 0.0001 | 87 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 1.4 | 0.0009 |
 25–29.99 | 124 | 7.3 | 11.0 | 3.7 |  | 117 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 3.8 |  |
 ≥ 30 | 144 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 4.9 |  | 134 | 7.7 | 8.4 | 5.3 |  |
Smoking history | ||||||||||
 Never | 238 | 5.8 | 8.6 | 3.4 | 0.066 | 225 | 5.4 | 7.8 | 3.4 | 0.046 |
 Ever | 124 | 7.7 | 10.3 | 3.7 |  | 113 | 7.4 | 10.7 | 3.9 |  |
Pre-RT pain score | ||||||||||
 < 4 | 286 | 5.9 | 8.8 | 3.3 | 0.014 | 266 | 5.6 | 8.4 | 3.4 | 0.054 |
 ≥ 4 | 59 | 9.3 | 11.8 | 4.9 |  | 56 | 8.1 | 10.3 | 4.2 |  |
Post-RT pain score | ||||||||||
 < 4 | 230 | 5.4 | 8.2 | 3.1 | 0.007 | 226 | 5.3 | 7.8 | 3.2 | 0.014 |
 ≥ 4 | 101 | 8.3 | 9.9 | 4.6 |  | 99 | 7.9 | 11.0 | 4.8 |  |
Tumor stage | ||||||||||
 0 | 73 | 6.1 | 8.2 | 3.6 | 0.916 | 65 | 6.3 | 8.3 | 3.4 | 0.872 |
 IA-B | 180 | 6.4 | 10.0 | 3.3 |  | 165 | 6.3 | 10.8 | 3.4 |  |
 IIA-III | 109 | 6.7 | 8.8 | 3.9 |  | 108 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 4.2 |  |
Breast volume (cc) | ||||||||||
 < 892.1 cc (median) | 181 | 5.2 | 8.2 | 2.6 | 0.011 | 169 | 5.0 | 9.2 | 2.4 | 0.021 |
 ≥ 892.1 cc (median) | 177 | 7.7 | 10.2 | 4.6 |  | 165 | 7.2 | 8.6 | 5.0 |  |
Hormone therapy | ||||||||||
 None/after RT | 175 | 6.7 | 10.5 | 3.2 | 0.736 | 159 | 5.7 | 7.9 | 3.3 | 0.032 |
 AI before | 97 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 4.8 |  | 95 | 7.2 | 10.0 | 4.6 |  |
 AI during | 14 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.3 |  | 14 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 3.8 |  |
 Tamoxifen before | 64 | 5.5 | 8.8 | 2.8 |  | 59 | 4.3 | 6.0 | 2.4 |  |
 Tamoxifen during | 12 | 8.2 | 9.3 | 5.1 |  | 11 | 12.8 | 21.0 | 5.1 |  |
RT fractionation | ||||||||||
 Conventional | 302 | 6.4 | 9.1 | 3.5 | 0.632 | 289 | 6.2 | 9.2 | 3.5 | 0.575 |
 Hypo | 60 | 7.0 | 10.2 | 3.5 |  | 49 | 5.4 | 7.0 | 3.7 |  |