Decreased Average Albumin-to-Globulin Ratio During Radiotherapy Worsens the Prognosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma:Implications for Nutritional Management

摘要

Objective Malnutrition and cachexia are common in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)patients undergoing radiotherapy.This study evaluated how malnutrition-and cachexia-related indicators,including the albumin-to-globulin ratio(AGR),and their changes during radiotherapy predict the treatment outcomes.Methods We reviewed a total of 172 ESCC patients receiving radiotherapy(as a primary cohort)and performed a Cox regression analysis on potential prognostic factors,including the AGR,as well as the TNM stage and concomitant chemotherapy.A subsequent receiver operating characteristics(ROC)curve and Kaplan Meier survival analysis was performed for ESCC patients stratified by the average AGR cut-off point.Results In addition to the well-documented factors(i.e.TNM stage and concomitant chemotherapy),the average AGR was a significant prognostic factor for ESCC patients receiving radiotherapy.By plotting the ROC curve of the average AGR with regard to the ESCC prognosis,we obtained cut-off points for the overall patients(cut-off point:1.5,AUC:0.636),for patients with stageⅡ/Ⅲdisease(cut-off point:1.5,AUC:0.611),and for patients with stageⅣdisease(cut-off point:1.84,AUC:0.900).The ESCC patients with higher average AGR had a significantly more favorable OS compared with those with a lower average AGR.Notably,ESCC patients who had an increasingΔAGR during radiotherapy had a considerably more favorable OS compared with those with a decreasingΔAGR.All of these findings were reproducible in the validation cohort.Conclusion A lower average AGR is indicative of a poorer prognosis for ESCC patients following radiotherapy.Improving the nutritional status and preventing or ameliorating cachexia might contribute to improving the prognosis of ESCC patients.