Value of the pretreatment albumin to globulin ratio in predicting long-term mortality in breast cancer patients

• Published in: The American journal of surgery Vol. 206; no. 5; pp. 764 - 770
• Main Authors: Azab, Basem N., M.D, Bhatt, Vijaya R., M.D, Vonfrolio, Steven, M.D, Bachir, Rana, M.P.H, Rubinshteyn, Vladimir, M.D, Alkaied, Homam, M.D, Habeshy, Ayman, M.D, Patel, Jignesh, M.D, Picon, Antonio I., M.D, Bloom, Scott W., M.D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-11-2013; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Aged; Albumin globulin ratio; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - blood; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - mortality; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - blood; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - mortality; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - pathology; Carcinoma, Lobular - blood; Carcinoma, Lobular - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Lobular - mortality; Carcinoma, Lobular - pathology; Cohort Studies; Committees; Comorbidity; Confidence intervals; Female; Histology; Hospitals; Humans; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Middle Aged; Mortality; Proportional Hazards Models; Proteins; Radiation therapy; Retrospective Studies; Serum Albumin - analysis; Serum Globulins - analysis; Surgery; Survival analysis; Variables; Mortality; Breast cancer; Albumin globulin ratio
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2013.03.007
• EISSN: 1879-1883
• ISSN: 0002-9610

Abstract Background Prior studies have demonstrated the prognostic value of pretreatment serum albumin in different types of cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of the albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) on survival in breast cancer patients. Methods This retrospective study used an unselected cohort of 354 breast cancer patients who had documented total protein and albumin levels prior to chemotherapy. Survival status was obtained from our cancer registry. Survival analysis, stratified by AGR tertiles, was used to evaluate the prognostic value of AGR. Results Patients in the highest AGR tertiles (AGR > 1.45) had a lower 5-year mortality rate compared with those in the middle (AGR 1.21 to 1.45) and the lowest (AGR < 1.21) tertiles (6% vs 18% and 32%, P < .001). After adjusting for confounding variables, AGR remained a significant predictor of mortality ( P < .002). Moreover, after excluding the patients with albumin levels less than 3.6, the AGR remained a significant predictor of survival ( P .0018). Conclusions Pretreatment AGR is an independent, significant predictor of long-term mortality in breast cancer patients, even in patients with normal albumin levels.