A novel blood tool of cancer prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: The Fibrinogen/Albumin ratio

Abstract

Background: Coagulation and nutrition play important roles in cancer progression. We aim to investigate the impact of the fibrinogen/albumin ratio(FAR) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 1135 patients with radical esophagectomy for ESCC from January 2008 to December 2010 in our center. X-tile software was used to determine the optimal cutoff levels for these biomarkers. Results: The optimal cutoff value was 0.08 for the FAR by the X-tile software. The FAR was statistically significantly associated with age(p = 0.003), sex(p = 0.030), tumor length (p = 0.043), pT status(p < 0.001) and pN status(p < 0.001). Pearson's correlation indicated that the FAR were positively associated with the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = 0.583, p < 0.001), and the NLR (r = 0.316, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that age, tumor grade, pT status, pN status and preoperative FAR were independent prognostic factors in patients with ESCC. Conclusions: Preoperative FAR was an independent prognostic factor in ESCC patients. Lower FAR may improve OS of ESCC patients.