Background: The albumin-to-globulin ratio reflects both the nutrition and inflammation and predicts prognosis in patients with various malignancies. However, in cervical cancer patients who undergo surgery, its significance has yet to be established.
Methods: A total of 247 cervical cancer patients who received surgical treatment at our institution between 2005 and 2017 were enrolled in this study. Preoperative data, such as the levels of serum albumin and serum globulin as well as the albumin-to-globulin ratio along with the other clinicopathological characteristics were retrospectively assessed, and their association with the overall survival was analyzed.
Results: Overall, 49 cases of recurrence and 26 deaths were observed during the median follow-up time of 58.6 months. A low albumin-to-globulin ratio (< 1.345) as well as low albumin (< 3.25 g/dL) and high globulin levels (≥ 3.25 g/dL) were significantly associated with poor prognosis. According to the multivariate analysis, a low albumin-to-globulin ratio was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (HR = 2.59, 95% CI 1.12-5.96, P = 0.026); however, low albumin or high globulin levels was not associated with the overall survival. Among the clinicopathological characteristics, older age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, larger tumor size, and parametrial invasion were associated with a low albumin-to-globulin ratio.
Conclusion: A low albumin-to-globulin ratio was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with surgically treated invasive cervical cancer. Therefore, the albumin-to-globulin ratio may serve as a prognostic marker, which predicts a worse prognosis.
Keywords: Albumin-to-globulin ratio; Cervical cancer; Prognostic marker; Surgical treatment.