title: Prognostic impact of serum albumin levels on the recurrence of stage I non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer who have undergone complete surgical resection harbor a 30% risk for tumor recurrence. Thus, the identification of factors that are predictive for tumor recurrence is urgently needed. The aim of this study was to test the prognostic value of serum albumin levels on tumor recurrence in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Stage I non-small cell lung cancer patients who underwent complete surgical resection of the primary tumor at Zhejiang Hospital were analyzed in this study. Serum albumin levels were measured before surgery and once again after surgery in 101 histologically diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer patients. Correlations between the pre- and post-operative serum albumin levels and various clinical demographics and recurrence-free survival rates were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with pre-operative hypoalbuminemia (<3.5 g/dl) had a significantly worse survival rate than patients with normal pre-operative serum albumin levels (≥3.5 g/dl) (p=0.008). Patients with post-operative hypoalbuminemia had a worse survival rate when compared with patients with normal post-operative serum albumin levels (p=0.001). Cox multivariate analysis identified pre-operative hypoalbuminemia, post-operative hypoalbuminemia and tumor size over 3 cm as independent negative prognostic factors for recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum albumin levels appear to be a significant independent prognostic factor for tumor recurrence in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer who have undergone complete resection. Patient pre-treatment and post-treatment serum albumin levels provide an easy and early means of discrimination between patients with a higher risk for recurrence and patients with a low risk of recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Department of Medical Oncology, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012709:Serum Albumin