Clinical Usefulness of Perioperative C-reactive Protein/Albumin Ratio in Patients With Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: A Retrospective Single Institutional Study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/AIM: Prognoses of patients with cancer can be predicted on the basis of preoperative nutrition- or inflammation-based scores; however, predicting the prognostic impact of undergoing surgery remains challenging. In this study, we investigated the usefulness of the perioperative C-reactive protein/albumin (CRP/Alb) ratio in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively investigated 80 patients who had undergone curative resection of primary ICC between April 2002 and December 2017. We identified the time at which perioperative CRP/Alb ratio most influences the prognosis, and investigated the correlations among the perioperative CRP/Alb ratio, clinicopathological features and patient outcomes. RESULTS: The only perioperative CRP/Alb ratios significantly associated with shorter overall survival (OS) was a high CRP/Alb ratio on POD14. High CRP/Alb ratio on POD 14 was significantly associated with older age, male sex, and the presence of postoperative complications. Finally, a high CRP/Alb ratio at POD 14 was an independent prognostic factor for poor OS. CONCLUSION: CRP/Alb ratio on POD 14 may be a useful prognostic factor in patients with ICC who have undergone curative resections.