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It is well established that inflammation is one of the “hallmarks of cancer” that can contribute to tumour progression. It also now appears that its systemic manifestations can provide a valuable biomarker for prognosis and treatment stratification. This collection of papers illustrates how a simple indicator of systemic inflammation based on neutrophilia and/or lymphocytopenia can provide prognostic information in a wide range of cancer types. Although not informative from a biological standpoint in distinguishing cause from effect, the results of these studies are likely to be of significant clinical utility.