Description: FRIDAY, June 1 (HealthDay News) -- A protein that is used as a marker of heart disease may also predict survival odds and response to chemotherapy for men with advanced prostate cancer.

There is already a simple blood test available for the protein, called C-reactive protein (CRP), which is produced by the liver and is elevated in the presence of inflammation.

"If a second study is confirmatory, then we have a readily available blood test that could now be used to inform physicians and patients what they can expect from the cancer, which is important in planning treatment," said study senior author Dr. Tomasz Beer, director of the prostate cancer research program at the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute.

The findings are expected to be presented June 1 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.

Over the last several years, investigators have begun looking at the role of CRP in a range of cancers. "There's a growing body of information