Fluctuations in C-reactive protein in a hepatoblastoma patient with thrombocytosis.

We observed the changes in serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in a patient with hepatoblastoma exhibiting thrombocytosis. The concomitant changes of IL-6 and CRP concentrations after the initiation of chemotherapy, in the absence of infection, suggested that the IL-6, which is synthesized in hepatoblastoma cells and induces thrombocytosis, also stimulated CRP production in the present case. IL-6 is thought to play an important role in thrombocytosis in hepatoblastoma.