The Potential Diagnostic Role of Procalcitonin for Bacteremia in a Large Cohort of Solid Cancer Patients

Aim: In cancer patients (pts), commonly used systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) or sepsis diagnostic criteria lack of specificity, hence the importance to identificate an early useful diagnostic markers. Several studies showed procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker able to differentiate sepsis or bacterial infections from systemic non-infectious inflammatory syndrome. We studied the correlation between bacteremia and PCT levels in a large cohort of advanced solid cancer patients.