Song M, et al. - In this case-cohort study within the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study Cohort II, researchers examined the association of circulating inflammation-related markers with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. For this purpose, they used Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for potential confounders to estimate hazard ratios associated with each marker. They compared 457 incident CRC cases during a median 18-year follow-up with a random sub-cohort of 774 individuals. They measured baseline plasma levels of 62 cytokines, soluble receptors, acute-phase proteins, and growth factor markers. Findings suggested chemokine alterations in colorectal carcinogenesis. Based on the data, they suggested the possible application of noninvasive chemokine assays in colorectal cancer screening and etiologic research.