Clinical usefulness of postoperative C-reactive protein/albumin ratio in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Association between nutritional status and biochemical markers among hematopoietic stem cell transplant candidates: a cross-sectional study

AIM

Candidates of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) may be at nutritional risk due to decreased oral intake, high nutritional requirements and nutrient malabsorption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between nutritional status and blood biomarkers in candidates of HSCT.

METHODS

A total of 278 patients aged 18-65 years old were recruited and their baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. All subjects underwent nutritional status analysis using Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002). Blood biomarkers including C-reactive protein (CRP), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), hemoglobin, albumin and total protein as well as CRP-albumin ratio (CAR) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were measured and compared between two groups based on Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002) within 24 h of admission in Bone Marrow Transplant ward.

RESULTS

The results showed that undernourished patients (NRS ≥ 3) had significantly higher inflammatory markers including ESR, CRP and CAR as well as lower BMI and serum albumin and hemoglobin concentrations (P < 0.05); however, no significant association was observed in terms of total protein even after adjusting for confounders (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed that BMI combined with biochemical markers are the appropriate parameters for assessment of nutritional status in HSCT candidates. Furthermore, the nutritional status was verified to be significantly associated with systematic inflammation.

Postoperative ratio of C-reactive protein to albumin is an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer

OBJECTIVE

The role of postoperative of the ratio of c-reactive protein to albumin (CRP/Alb ratio) in the prognosis of gastric cancer is rarely evaluated. Our purpose was to investigate the correlation of the postoperative CRP/Alb ratio and long-term prognosis of gastric cancer.

METHODS

We enrolled 430 patients who suffered from radical gastrectomy. The commonly used inflammatory indices, clinical-pathological characteristics and oncologic outcomes were recorded. The median was used to the cut-off value for preoperative and postoperative CRP/Alb ratio, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model were performed to determine its prognostic significance.

RESULTS

In univariate analysis, there were significant differences were observed in overall survival (OS) according to perioperative CRP/Alb ratio, c-reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin (Alb), respectively. According to the multivariate analysis, higher postoperative CRP/Alb ratio (HR 2.03, 95% CI 1.55-2.66, P < 0.001), lower postoperative albumin (Alb), higher preoperative c-reactive protein (CRP) and higher postoperative CRP were indicated a shorter overall survival.

CONCLUSION

Postoperative inflammatory factors in patients with gastric cancer should be pay attention, especially postoperative CRP/Alb ratio may be an independent predictor of long-term prognosis of gastric cancer.

Evaluation of laboratory predictors for intravenous immunoglobulin resistance and coronary artery aneurysm in Kawasaki Disease before and after therapy

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) before and after therapy.

METHODS

Patients with KD were divided into different groups according to their responsiveness to initial intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment and coronary status. The clinical and laboratory parameters before and after therapy were compared. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the independent risk factors, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to assess and compare the prediction ability of risk factors and their fluctuations.

RESULTS

Of the 153 patients included in the study, 41 (26.8%) had IVIG resistance and 37 (24.2%) had developed CAA. After stratifying by therapy response, the two groups differed in the levels of total bilirubin (TSB), albumin, and sodium, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte count ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte count ratio (PLR), TSB-to-albumin (B/A) ratio, and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) before IVIG, and in the white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil count, levels of hemoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and albumin, NLR, PNI, capillary leakage index (CLI), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) after IVIG. Multivariate analysis revealed that the B/A ratio before IVIG and CLI and SII after IVIG were significantly and positively associated with IVIG resistance and that there was a larger decline in the B/A ratio and smaller decline in CLI and SII pre- and post-treatment in the IVIG-resistant group than in the IVIG-responsive group. However, no statistical differences in the fluctuations of the B/A ratio, CLI, and SII as well as all parameters before and after therapy were observed in patients with and without CAA. ROC curve analyses found a greater AUC value of post-treatment parameters (0.751 and 0.706 for CLI and SII, respectively) compared with pre-treatment parameters (0.654 for B/A ratio) in predicting IVIG resistance; however, the predictive ability of the fluctuations in risk factors before and after therapy was not superior to that of baseline values.

CONCLUSIONS

The B/A ratio before IVIG and CLI and SII after IVIG were risk factors for IVIG resistance in patients with KD, independent of CAA development. Key Points • A high total bilirubin-to-albumin ratio before IVIG and high capillary leakage and systemic immune-inflammation indices after IVIG may indicate an increased risk of intravenous immunoglobulin resistance in patients with Kawasaki disease. • Post-treatment parameters were superior to pre-treatment parameters in terms of prediction; therefore, rapid and repeated assessment of risk factors before and after treatment must be considered in children in whom the vital signs and symptoms do not improve after treatment.

The clinical impact of the ratio of C-reactive protein to albumin (CAR) in patients with acute- and lymphoma-type adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL)

Recently, the ratio of C-reactive protein to albumin (CAR) is used as an inflammatory marker that has been demonstrated to be a simple and reliable prognostic factor in solid tumors and hematological malignancy. However, no studies of the CAR have been performed in patients with adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL). We retrospectively analyzed the clinical features and outcomes in 68 newly diagnosed acute- and lymphoma-type ATL [(acute-(n=42) or lymphoma-type (n=26)] patients in Miyazaki Prefecture from 2013 to 2017. Furthermore, we investigated correlations between pretreatment CAR levels and clinical features. The median age was 67 years (range, 44 - 87). Patients were initially treated by either palliative therapy (n=14) or chemotherapy [n=54; CHOP therapy (n=37)/ VCAP-AMP-VECP therapy (n=17)], and showed median survival durations of 0.5 months and 7.4 months, respectively. The factors affecting OS by multivariate analysis were age, BUN, and CAR. Importantly, we revealed that the high CAR group (optimal cut-off point; 0.553) was a significant indicator of worse OS by multivariate analysis (p< 0.001, HR; 5.46). The median survival of patients with a CAR< 0.553 was 8.37 months, while patients with a CAR>0.553 had a median survival of 3.94 months. The different clinical features between high CAR and low CAR groups were hypoproteinemia and the implementation of chemotherapy. Furthermore, in the chemotherapy group, but not the palliative therapy group, CAR was a significant prognostic marker. Our study indicated that CAR may be a new simple and significant independent prognostic marker in acute- and lymphoma-type ATL patients.

Prognostic assessment of C‑reactive protein and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the prognostic assessment of inflammatory factor serum C‑reactive protein CRP and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio NLR value in patients with non-small cell lung cancer NSCLC.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted for 475 patients with NSCLC who visited our hospital with complete follow-up data from January 2017 to 1 January 2019. The changes of serum CRP, NLR levels in patients with NSCLC of different stages, as well as the changes in the levels of the two indexes before and after chemotherapy in patients with advanced stage were compared using t tests with SPSS19.0 software. Serum CRP and NLR were divided into low and high groups with median intercept values and the relationship between inflammation score index and tumor progression-free survival time (PFS) was analyzed retrospectively. Clinical factors that may affect disease prognosis were included in the proportional hazards (COX) regression model for multifactorial prognostic analysis.

RESULTS

Pretreatment serum levels of NLR and CRP were significantly higher in non-operated patients relative to preoperative levels in surgical patients. Advanced patients had higher levels of both indexes than locally advanced patients. After chemotherapy, the levels of the two indexes reaching remission were significantly lower than those before chemotherapy. The levels of the two indexes in patients with stable disease after chemotherapy were not statistically significant compared with those before chemotherapy, and the levels of the two indexes in the group with progressive disease after chemotherapy were significantly higher than those before chemotherapy. The results of PFS survival analyses showed that PFS was prolonged in the low score CRP and the low score NLR group, compared with the high score group. Multifactorial prognostic analysis showed that smoking, CRP and NLR were risk factors for PFS prognosis in patients with NSCLC.

CONCLUSION

Serum CRP and NLR are effective predictors of poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC.

Association between preoperative serum albumin and prognosis in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma after primary resection: a retrospective study

Background

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Given the limited treatment options, prognostic assessment of ACC is increasingly crucial. In this study, we aim to assess the correlation between preoperative serum albumin and prognosis in patients with ACC after primary resection.

Methods

We retrospectively collected and reviewed medical information about 71 ACC patients who underwent primary resection. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan–Meier analysis with log-rank test or Breslow test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Jordan index was generated to explore optimal cut-off value of albumin. Univariate and multivariate analysis was conducted using Cox’s hazards model. Statistical significance was defined as P < 0.05.

Results

Among included patients, 33 patients (46.5%) relapsed at the end of follow-up, while 39 patients (54.9%) died. The median overall survival (OS) of included patients was 17 (range 1–104) months, and median recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 10 (range 0–104) months. In univariate analysis, the albumin was significantly associated with OS (HR:0.491, 95% CI: 0.260–0.930, P = 0.029) and RFS (HR: 0.383, 95% CI: 0.192–0.766, P = 0.007). In multivariate analysis, serum albumin as an independent prognostic factor of OS was confirmed (HR: 0.351, 95% CI: 0.126–0.982, P = 0.046).

Conclusions

Preoperative albumin might be a significant prognostic factor for ACC patients after primary resection. This result may be useful for risk stratification and management of this rare malignancy.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08689-5.

C-reactive protein : albumin ratio in patients with resectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

The C-reactive protein : albumin ratio (CAR) has been reported as a novel prognostic marker in several cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of CAR in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).

METHODS

This was a single-centre retrospective study of patients who underwent surgery for ICC in a university hospital in Japan between 1998 and 2018. CAR, Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) and modified GPS (mGPS) were calculated. Their correlation with recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) was analysed with Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

Seventy-two patients were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups according to the optimal CAR cut-off value of 0·02. CAR above 0·02 was associated with higher carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels (20·5 versus 66·1 units/ml for CAR of 0·02 or less; P = 0·002), larger tumour size (3·2 versus 4·4 cm respectively; P = 0·031) and a higher rate of microvascular invasion (9 of 28 versus 25 of 44; P = 0·041). RFS and OS were shorter in patients with CAR above 0·02: hazard ratio (HR) 4·31 (95 per cent c.i. 2·02 to 10·63) and HR 4·80 (1·85 to 16·40) respectively. In multivariable analysis CAR above 0·02 was an independent prognostic factor of RFS (HR 3·29 (1·33 to 8·12); P < 0·001), but not OS.

CONCLUSIONS

CAR was associated with prognosis in patients who had hepatic resection for ICC.

Prognostic Biomarkers for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: An Umbrella Review

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) leads to the majority of cancer-related deaths due to its morbidity with similar mortality. Lack of effective prognostic biomarkers are the main reason for belated post-operative intervention of recurrence which causes high mortality. Numerous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have explored the prognostic value of biomarkers in PDAC so far. In this article, we performed an umbrella review analyzing these studies to provide an overview of associations between prognostic biomarkers and PDAC survival outcome and synthesized these results to guide better clinical practice.

Methods: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating the associations between PDAC survival outcomes and prognostic biomarkers were acquired via the PubMed and Embase databases from inception till February 1, 2020. Associations supported by nominally statistically significant results were classified into strong, highly suggestive, suggestive, and weak based on several critical factors such as the statistical significance of summary estimates, the number of events, the estimate of the largest study included, interstudy heterogeneity, small-study effects, 95% predictive interval (PI), excess significance bias, and the results of credibility ceiling sensitivity analyses.

Results: We included 41 meta-analyses containing 63 associations between PDAC survival outcomes and prognostic biomarkers. Although, none was supported by strong evidence among these associations, an association between C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) and PDAC overall survival (OS) and an association between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and PDAC OS were supported by highly suggestive evidence. Otherwise, the association between lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and PDAC OS was supported by suggestive evidence. The remaining 60 associations were supported by weak or not suggestive evidence.

Conclusion: Associations between CAR or NLR and PDAC OS were supported by highly suggestive evidence. And the association between LDH and PDAC OS was supported by suggestive evidence. Although the methodological quality of the included systematic reviews and meta-analyses which were evaluated by AMSTAR2.0 is generally poor, the identification of the relatively robust prognostic biomarkers of PDAC may guide better post-operative intervention and follow-up to prolong patients' survival.

Preoperative C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio and clinical outcomes after resection of colorectal liver metastases

PURPOSE

Accumulating evidence suggests that the inflammatory tumor microenvironment can potentiate tumor progression and metastasis. The C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) is a novel inflammation-based prognostic score. This study was performed to examine the associations of the preoperative CAR with clinical outcomes in patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) after curative resection.

METHODS

We retrospectively assessed the preoperative CAR in 184 patients who underwent curative resection for CRLM from November 2001 to January 2018 at Kumamoto University (Kumamoto, Japan). The optimal cutoff level of the preoperative CAR was determined by survival classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. We compared clinicopathological factors and prognoses between the high-CAR and low-CAR groups. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs), controlling for potential confounders.

RESULTS

A higher preoperative CAR was associated with worse overall survival (OS) (p < 0.0001) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.003). Applying survival CART analysis, the high-CAR group comprised 33 patients (17.9%). In the multivariate analyses, a high CAR was independently associated with shorter OS (HR, 2.82; 95% confidence interval, 1.63-4.72; p = 0.0004) and RFS (HR, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.49; p = 0.040). A high CAR was associated with a large tumor size, high serum carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels, high intraoperative blood loss, and more postoperative complications.

CONCLUSION

A high preoperative CAR is associated with shorter OS and RFS and might serve as a prognostic marker for patients with CRLM after curative resection.

Pretreatment C-reactive protein/albumin ratio for predicting overall survival in pancreatic cancer: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Inconsistent findings have been reported regarding the association of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) with survival outcome in patients with pancreatic cancer. We conducted the current meta-analysis to assess the prognostic utility of elevated baseline CAR in predicting overall survival (OS) in pancreatic cancer patients.

METHODS

A comprehensively literature search was performed in the PubMed and Embase database until February 10, 2019. Studies evaluating the association between pretreatment CAR and OS among pancreatic cancer were selected. Study quality was evaluated by using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS

Nine retrospective studies involving 1534 pancreatic cancer patients were identified. A meta-analysis using a random-effect model indicated that elevated CAR was associated with poor OS (hazard ratio 1.98; 95% confidence interval 1.58-2.48). Subgroup analysis produced similar prognostic values for OS in different geographical regions, sample sizes, thresholds of CAR, treating methods, and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale points.

CONCLUSION

Elevated pretreatment CAR may independently predict poor OS in pancreatic cancer patients. Pretreatment CAR is possibly a simple and cost-effective blood-derived indicator for predicting survival outcome in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Postoperative C-reactive protein/albumin ratio is a biomarker of risk of recurrence and need for adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Adjuvant chemotherapy is generally recommended for patients with stage III colorectal cancer. Even with adjuvant chemotherapy, 20-30% of such patients develop recurrences; the risk factors for recurrence are currently unclear. The preoperative systemic inflammation index has been linked to poor prognoses in patients with colorectal cancer; however, the relationship between postoperative systemic inflammation index and recurrence is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the association between preoperative and postoperative systemic inflammation indexes and recurrence in patients with stage III colorectal cancer.

METHODS

The following laboratory data of 133 patients with stage III colorectal cancer were analyzed: preoperative and postoperative C-reactive protein/albumin ratios (CAR); neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios (NLR); and platelet to lymphocyte ratios (PLR) and their relationships with recurrence analyzed.

RESULTS

The optimal cutoff values for systemic inflammation indexes were determined by examining receiver operating characteristic curves. Multivariate analyses indicated that N-stage, postoperative complications, preoperative NLR, and postoperative CAR were independent predictors of recurrence-free survival (RFS). Postoperative CAR was also an independent predictor of overall survival (OS). Patients with postoperative CAR ≥ 0.035 who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy had shorter RFS and OS than those who did. There were no significant differences in RFS and OS between patients with postoperative CAR < 0.035 who did and did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative CAR is strongly associated with poor prognosis in patients with stage III colorectal cancer and is a useful biomarker for determining whether adjuvant chemotherapy should be administered.

Prognostic and Clinicopathological Significance of C-Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

This meta-analysis explored the correlation between the C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) and survival outcomes and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were comprehensively searched through October 17, 2019. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the association between CAR and overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) in pancreatic cancer.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis included 11 studies comprising 2271 patients. The pooled results showed that a high CAR was predictive of worse OS (HR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.65-2.06, P < .001), PFS (HR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.27-1.85, P < .001), and DFS (HR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.30-2.41, P < .001). An elevated CAR was also associated with male sex (OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.10-1.74, P = .006).

CONCLUSION

Elevated pretreatment CAR effectively predicts inferior survival outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer and may be a powerful prognostic indicator for these patients.

Clinical Implication of Pre-operative C-reactive Protein-Albumin Ratio as a Prognostic Factor of Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Single-institutional Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

The C-reactive protein (CRP)-to-serum albumin ratio is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with several cancers. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between the preoperative CRP/Alb ratio and overall survival of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in patients who received radical surgery and S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We included 117 patients who underwent radical surgery with S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy. We constructed receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) of the CRP/Alb ratio to determine the cut-off value. We analyzed the relationship among the CRP/Alb ratio, clinicopathological status, and survival.

RESULTS

The optimal cut-off value of the CRP/Alb ratio was 0.036. All patients were divided into a high-ratio group (CRP/Alb ratio ≥0.036) and low-ratio group (CRP/Alb ratio <0.036). The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates in the high- and low-ratio groups were 22.5% and 36.4%, respectively (p=0.0089). The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates in the high- and low-ratio groups were 12.5% and 22.1%, respectively (p=0.0097). The univariate and multivariate analyses of the OS showed that the pathological N factor and CRP/Alb ratio were independent factors of the survival. The univariate and multivariate analyses of the RFS showed that the pathological N factor, resection margin, and CRP/Alb ratio were independent factors of the survival.

CONCLUSION

The preoperative CRP/Alb ratio is a strong prognostic factor for PDAC patients with undergo curative resection with S-1 adjuvant chemotherapy.

C-reactive protein/albumin ratio is a prognostic indicator in Asians with pancreatic cancers: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The prognostic value of C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) in pancreatic cancer remains controversial. This study aimed to determine the potential role of CAR as a prognostic indicator in pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search up to December 2018 was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and other databases. The hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was employed to quantitatively assess CAR as a prognostic indicator in patients with pancreatic cancer.

RESULTS

Eleven studies with 2047 pancreatic cancer patients were selected for the analysis. Ten out of 11 studies included only Asian patients. The pooled results showed that a higher CAR value was significantly associated with a poor overall survival of pancreatic cancer patients (random-effects model: HR = 1.86; 95% CI = 1.53-2.26). Sensitivity analysis indicated the stability of the overall pooled results. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis revealed that the country under study, cut-off value of CAR, treatment of patients, and the period of follow-up did not affect the prognostic value of CAR in pancreatic cancer patients (P > .05). No publication bias was noted across the studies (P = .933).

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis suggests that CAR is associated with the survival of pancreatic cancer patients of Asian ethnicity, and a higher CAR may be a potential prognostic indicator in pancreatic cancers.

C-reactive protein-albumin ratio as a prognostic factor in renal cell carcinoma - A data from multi-institutional study in Japan

INTRODUCTION

The C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) has been shown to provide prognostic information in several cancers. The objective in the study is to examine the prognostic value of CAR in patients with RCC who underwent nephrectomy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The record data from multi-institutional study of 1,028 patients was analyzed in the study. The cut-off value of the CAR was defined by receive operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were evaluated, and univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the predictive value of the variables including CAR.

RESULT

The optimal cut-off value of 0.073 in CAR was defined according to the ROC analysis. The AUC in CAR for CSS was greater than that of NLR and PLR, and that for RFS was also greater than GPS and mGPS. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the CAR was an independent prognostic factor for OS (P < 0.001), CSS (P < 0.001) in total cohort and RFS (P = 0.029) in nonmetastatic cohort.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the present study suggested that the preoperative CAR is an independent prognostic indicator of OS, CSS and RFS for patients with RCC. Since CAR can be assessed prior to surgery, clinicians should this take into account for the treatment decision making.

Identification of hub genes and analysis of prognostic values in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by integrated bioinformatics methods

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers in the world, and more molecular mechanisms should be illuminated to meet the urgent need of developing novel detection and therapeutic strategies. We analyzed the related microarray data to find the possible hub genes and analyzed their prognostic values using bioinformatics methods. The mRNA microarray datasets GSE62452, GSE15471, GSE102238, GSE16515, and GSE62165 were finally chosen and analyzed using GEO2R. The overlapping genes were found by Venn Diagrams, functional and pathway enrichment analyses were performed using the DAVID database, and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by STRING and Cytoscape. OncoLnc, which was linked to TCGA survival data, was used to investigate the prognostic values. In total, 179 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in PDAC, among which, 130 were up-regulated genes and 49 were down-regulated. DAVID showed that the up-regulated genes were significantly enriched in extracellular matrix and structure organization, collagen catabolic and metabolic process, while the down-regulated genes were mainly involved in proteolysis, reactive oxygen species metabolic process, homeostatic process and cellular response to starvation. From the PPI network, the 21 nodes with the highest degree were screened as hub genes. Based on Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) plug-in, the top module was formed by ALB, TGM, PLAT, PLAU, EGF, MMP7, MMP1, LAMC2, LAMA3, LAMB3, COLA1, FAP, CDH11, COL3A1, ITGA2, and VCAN. OncoLnc survival analysis showed that, high expression of ITGA2, MMP7, ITGB4, ITGA3, VCAN and PLAU may predict poor survival results in PDAC. The present study identified hub genes and pathways in PDAC, which may be potential targets for its diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic prediction.

The C-Reactive Protein/Albumin Ratio is a Novel Significant Prognostic Factor in Patients with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A Retrospective Multi-institutional Study

BACKGROUND

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a devastating neoplasm, is traditionally considered to be resistant to antitumor therapy. Identification of clinical prognostic indicators is therefore needed. Although the C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) has been used to predict the prognosis of many types of malignancy, its utility in patients with MPM is unknown.

METHODS

The data of 100 patients diagnosed as having MPM from 1995 to 2015 at the National Kyushu Cancer Center and Kyushu University were analyzed. The CAR was calculated as serum C-reactive protein concentration divided by albumin concentration. A cutoff for CAR was set at 0.58 according to a receiver operating characteristics curve for 1-year survival.

RESULTS

Thirty-five of the 100 (35.0%) patients were classified as having a high CAR. A high CAR was significantly associated with advanced clinical stage (p < 0.001) and chemotherapy alone (p = 0.002). Patients with a high CAR had significantly shorter overall survival (OS) (p < 0.001) and disease- or progression-free survival (DFS/PFS) (p < 0.001). These associations between CAR and prognosis remained significant after propensity score-matching. In multivariate analysis, a high CAR was an independent predictor of shorter OS and DFS/PFS (p = 0.003 and p = 0.008, respectively). Multivariate analyses of the subgroups of patients who had received chemotherapy and of patients who had undergone surgery also showed that a high CAR was an independent predictor of shorter OS and DFS/PFS.

CONCLUSIONS

CAR is an independent predictor of prognosis in MPM patients. This prognostic index contributes to clinicians' ability to predict benefit from treatment. Further larger, prospective studies are necessary to validate these findings.

C-Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio Predicts 30-Day and 1-Year Mortality in Postoperative Patients after Admission to the Intensive Care Unit

C-reactive protein and albumin are associated with poor outcomes in critically ill patients. This study aimed to investigate the significance of the C-reactive protein/albumin (CRP/ALB) ratio as a novel prognostic factor for 30-day or 1-year mortality after admission to the postoperative intensive care unit (ICU). This retrospective study was conducted by examining the medical records of postoperative patients aged 19 years or older admitted to the ICU at a tertiary care hospital from January 2007 to July 2016. This study included data on 11,832 postoperative patients in the analysis. The cut-off value of the CRP/ALB ratio was set at 1.75 and 1.58 for 30-day and 1-year mortality after ICU admission, respectively. In postoperative patients with a high CRP/ALB ratio (>1.75 or >1.58), the probability of death within 30 days or 1 year after ICU admission were 30% or 43% higher than that in the group with the least CRP/ALB ratio, respectively (≤1.75 or ≤1.58)(p < 0.05). This study found the CRP/ALB ratio measured immediately after ICU admission to be an independent risk factor for 30-day and 1-year mortality in postoperative patients admitted to the ICU.