Purpose: To quantify preoperative serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels in patients undergoing curative resection of colorectal liver metastases and to assess the relationship between NGAL levels and prognostic features in these patients.
Methods: From April 2005 to August 2007, 32 patients operated on for first curative resection of colorectal liver metastases underwent determination of preoperative serum NGAL. Patients were divided into four homogeneous clinical groups and into two risk groups based on their clinical risk scores. NGAL levels were corrected by simultaneous creatinine levels to avoid bias due to renal failure.
Results: Higher values of corrected NGAL levels (CNL) were found in patients of the high-risk group (94.53+/-56.18 vs 57.87+/-24.49, p=0.014). Patients with more than three tumor nodules had higher values of CNL compared to patients with three or fewer nodules (101.78+/-56.35 vs 58.57+/-27.24, p=0.008). Patients with disease involving both hepatic lobes had higher CNL levels than those with involvement of a single lobe (106.5+/-59.13 vs 59.01+/-26.69, p=0.005). Patients with higher clinical risk scores had significantly higher CNL.
Conclusions: CNL are associated with the considered prognostic clinical factors and scores, suggesting a possible role for CNL as a prognosis-related indicator and a neoplastic tissue volume marker in patients with colorectal liver metastases.