Abstract
Background: Albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR) and the prognostic nutrition index (PNI) are used to assess the nutritional status and severity of disease for a cancer patient. However, the clinical significance of combining these two predictors in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. This study evaluated the prognostic value of pretreatment serum AGR and the PNI for GC.
Methods: A total of 273 patients with GC, diagnosed between January 2010 and January 2014, were enrolled. The association of AGR, PNI with clinicopathological characters and prognosis were assessed by Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier methods.
Results: Both low AGR group and low PNI group had poor overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) (all p < 0.001), while patients with low AGR and PNI had the lowest OS rate. Multivariate analyses revealed that AGR (for OS HR = 0.657, 95%CI: 0.449–0.962, p = 0.031; for PFS HR = 0.684, 95%CI: 0.528–0.895, p = 0.035) was an independent prognostic factor for OS and PFS in patients with GC, and PNI was verified as a predictor for OS (HR = 0.782, 95%CI: 0.503 –0.997, p = 0.048).
Conclusions: Low level of pretreatment AGR and PNI may be independent prognostic factors for patients with GC, and patients with both factors indicated the worst OS.
Disclosure Statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Author Contribution
Min Tao and Yan Zhang contributed to the conception and design of the paper. Min-Bin Chen has given administrative support. Li-Na Zhou contributed to provision of the study materials or patients. Jia-Yao Zhu and Min Tang contributed to the collection and assembly of data. Yan Zhang and Jia-Yao Zhu contributed to data analysis and interpretation. All authors contributed to the final writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed to final approval of manuscript.