Prognostic role of pretreatment serum albumin in renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Recently, many studies have shown that pretreatment serum albumin can be closely linked to the prognosis of cancer patients, including those with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, not all studies have reached the same conclusion. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment serum albumin in RCC patients. A total of 17 studies involving 6,447 patients were included in our meta-analysis. Our results indicated that a lower pretreatment serum albumin level yielded a worse overall survival (hazard ratio [HR]=2.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.92-3.13), cancer-specific survival (HR=2.22, 95% CI 1.87-2.64), and relapse-free survival/progression-free survival (HR=1.75, 95% CI 1.28-2.38). Generally, these findings were particularly pronounced when stratified by tumor type, analysis type, cut-off value, and HR-obtaining method. In conclusion, a decreased pretreatment serum albumin level implies a poor prognosis for RCC patients, and can be monitored for risk stratification and individualized treatment in RCC patients.
Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.
Zhen
Z
Chen
Department of Radiation Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou.
Yingjie
Y
Shao
Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.
Kun
K
Wang
Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.
Wei
W
Cao
Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.
Yulong
Y
Xiong
Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.
Rongzu
R
Wu
Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.
Shicheng
S
Luo
Department of Urology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Third Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
Xianlin
X
Xu
Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.
Xiaozhou
X
He
albumin; meta-analysis; prognosis; renal cell carcinoma