Implications of low serum albumin as a prognostic factor of long-term outcomes in patients with breast cancer

Abstract

Background/Aim: We examined the relationship between preoperative serum albumin levels and long-term outcomes in patients with breast cancer. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of 157 patients who underwent breast cancer surgery at a single institution. We divided the patients into those with <4.0 g/dl and those with ≥4.0 g/dl preoperative serum albumin. Results: The overall median follow-up period was 86.7 months. Among the 157 patients, 19 (12.1%) had decreased serum albumin levels preoperatively. A significant association with preoperative albumin levels was found only for patient age; however, we were unable to determine an association between preoperative albumin levels and various clinical features. The recurrence-free survival (p=0.030) and the overall survival (p=0.001) were both significantly shorter in patients with low albumin levels. Conclusion: Low serum albumin levels were associated with poor prognosis, but not with poor-prognostic factors. Therefore, low albumin levels may reflect the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer.