title: Plasma Fibrinogen Correlates with Metastasis and is Associated with Prognosis in Human Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
abstract: Background:The purpose of this observational study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the pre-treatment plasma fibrinogen level for survival outcomes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods:A total of 998 patients with NPC treated at a single centre in China were retrospectively enrolled, of whom 182 (18.2%) developed distant metastasis during follow-up. Survival analyses were performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression modelling to measure 3-year overall survival (OS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS).Results:Median OS for the entire cohort was 37.8 months. Using the cut-off value of 3.345 g/L identified in receiver operating curve analysis for fibrinogen, a high pre-treatment plasma fibrinogen level were associated with older age (P= 0.034), advanced TNM stage (P= 0.004) and development of distant metastasis (P< 0.001; Chi-square test). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis demonstrated the pre-treatment plasma fibrinogen level was an independent significant prognostic factor for OS and DMFS in both the entire cohort and also among patients who developed distant metastasis during follow-up.Conclusions:This study suggests the pre-treatment plasma fibrinogen level may serve as an independent prognostic marker to predict the survival outcomes of patients with NPC, including patients with metastatic disease.
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 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: Sha-Sha
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 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: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 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 Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Yang
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The First Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, China.
authors.forename: Shao-Bo
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 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: Li-Xia
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 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: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; fibrinogen; metastasis; prognosis.