title: C-Reactive Protein/Albumin Ratio (CAR) as a Prognostic Factor in Patients with Non-Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
abstract: Background:The C-reactive protein/albumin (CRP/ALB) ratio has recently been associated with clinical outcomes in patients suffering various types of cancer. In this retrospective study, we investigated the prognostic value of the pre-treatment CRP/ALB ratio (CAR) in non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients.Methods:The cohort included 2685 patients with non-metastatic NPC. Univariate and multivariate COX proportional hazards analyses were applied to evaluate the associations of CAR with overall survival (OS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) in patients with NPC. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses was used to compare groups classified by CAR.Results:Patients were categorised by the CAR using a cut-off value of 0.064. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis verified that high CAR level was a significant predictor for inferior OS (P= 0.003), DMFS (P= 0.035), and LRRFS (P= 0.024), but not for DFS (P= 0.093). CAR was also an independent prognostic factor for OS when stratified by Epstein-Barr virus DNA level ( ≥ 2560 or < 2560 copies ml-1).Conclusions: High CAR provides prognostication regarding OS, DMFS, DFS, and LRRFS in patients with NPC. CAR is a valuable coadjutant for Epstein-Barr virus DNA levels for identifying survival differences.
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, No.651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, China.; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, China.; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: ShaSha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, No.651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, China.; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, China.; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: HaiYang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, No.651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, China.; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, China.; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: The First Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, China.
authors.forename: ShaoBo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, No.651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, China.; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, China.; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: LiXia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, No.651 Dongfeng Road East, Guangzhou, China.; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Guangzhou, China.; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: C-reactive protein; Epstein-Barr virus DNA; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; albumin; prognosis.