Purpose: Albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score is a well-known prognostic factor for various diseases, including colorectal cancer (CRC). However, little is known about the significance of postoperative ALBI score changes in patients with CRC.
Materials and methods: A total of 723 patients who underwent surgery were enrolled. Preoperative ALBI (ALBI-pre) and postoperative ALBI (ALBI-post) scores were divided into low and high score groups. ALBI-trend was defined as a combination of four groups comprising the low and high ALBI-pre and ALBI-post score groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare the overall survival (OS) between the different ALBI groups. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the independent relevant factors of OS. Stratification performance was compared between the different ALBI groupings using Harrell's concordance index (C-index).
Results: ALBI-pre, ALBI-post, and ALBI-trend score groups were significant prognostic factors of OS in the univariable analysis. However, multivariable analysis showed that ALBI-trend was an independent prognostic factor while ALBI-pre and ALBI-post were not. The C-index of ALBI-trend (0.622; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.587 to 0.655) was higher than that of ALBI-pre (0.589; 95% CI, 0.557 to 0.621; bootstrap mean difference, 0.033; 95% CI, 0.013 to 0.057) and ALBI-post (0.575; 95% CI, 0.545 to 0.605; bootstrap mean difference, 0.047; 95% CI, 0.024 to 0.074).
Conclusion: Combining ALBI-pre and ALBI-post scores is an independent prognostic factor of OS and shows superior predictive power compared to ALBI-pre or ALBI-post alone in patients with CRC.
Keywords: ALBI grade; Colorectal neoplasms; Overall survival; Prognosis.