Purpose: To identify the impact of albumin-globulin ratio (AGR) on pathologic and survival outcomes in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU).
Patients and methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 620 patients treated with RNU for UTUC at our institution. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relation between low AGR (<1.45) and adverse pathologic features. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate recurrence-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) probabilities between 2 groups. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models were performed to address prognostic factors related to RFS, CSS, and OS.
Results: Of the 620 patients, 323 (52.1%) had AGR < 1.45. During a median follow-up of 50.0 months (interquartile range, 28-78 months), 277 (44.7%) experienced disease recurrence and 194 (31.3%) died of disease. The results showed that low AGR was significantly associated with adverse pathologic features (all P < .05). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that compared to those with high AGR (≥1.45), patients with low AGR had poorer RFS, CSS, and OS (P < .001). After adjusting for the confounding clinicopathologic factors, multivariate analyses showed that AGR < 1.45 independently predicted poor RFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.321, P = .029), CSS (HR = 1.503, P = .010) and OS (HR = 1.403, P = .015).
Conclusion: Low preoperative AGR is an independent predictor of worse pathologic and oncologic outcomes in patients with UTUC after RNU. The application of AGR as an easily assessed blood-based biomarker in predicting the prognosis of patients with UTUC is promising.
Keywords: Albumin-globulin ratio; Prognosis; Radical nephroureterectomy; Upper tract urothelial carcinoma.
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