Background: In recent years, the Fibrinogen to pre-albumin ratio (FPR) has been reported in many studies to be significantly associated with the prognosis of various cancers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the prognostic value of FPR in malignant tumors of the digestive system based on available evidence.
Methods: The relevant articles published before July 1, 2021, were systematically retrieved from electronic databases to evaluate the effect of Fibrinogen to pre-albumin ratio (FPR) on the prognosis of patients with malignant digestive system tumors and calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI).
Result: Thirteen articles, all from China, including 15 cohort studies and a total of 5116 cases, were included in this study. A high FPR was associated with poor overall survival (HR = 1.88, 95%CI 1.53-2.32, P < 0.001), recurrence-free survival (HR = 2.29, 95%CI 1.91-2.76, P < 0.001), progression-free survival (HR = 1.96, 95%CI: 1.33-2.90, P = 0.001), complications (HR = 1.78, 95%CI: 1.06-3.00, P = 0.029), disease-free survival (HR = 1.46, 95%CI: 1.08-1.97, P = 0.013) was significantly associated with cancer-specific survival (HR = 1.44, 95%CI: 1.15-1.79, P = 0.001). Even though intergroup differences were present, FPR was strongly associated with overall and relapse-free survival, and sensitivity analysis suggested that our results were stable.
Conclusion: FPR can be used as a valuable indicator to predict the prognosis of patients with malignant digestive system tumors.
Keywords: Digestive cancers; Fibrinogen to pre-albumin ratio; Prognosis.
© 2022. The Author(s).