I recently noticed that my husband's red cell distribution width (RDW) has been elevated since May 15th (HAI pump crisis time). Curious as to what that might mean, I found very scary data about it. This factoid stands out in particular: "RDW was strongly associated with deaths from cancer." http://atm.amegroups.com/article/view/12159/html
A better article on the subject: http://www.jcancer.org/v10p1162.htm
High RDW is associated with anemia, which he had in May, but not if all the other values are normal, such as MCV, etc. I doubt that it's an iron, B12, or folate deficiency either. So, that leaves an underlying inflammatory state and/or metabolic syndrome.
Does anyone know about red cell distribution width and its prognostic value in mCRC? Thoughts?