Predictive Value of C-reactive Protein/Albumin Ratio on Prognosis of Patients with Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma
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摘要:目的
探讨C反应蛋白(CRP)与白蛋白(Alb)比值对原发性肝癌患者预后的判断价值。
方法纳入首次行手术治疗的原发性肝癌患者178例,计算术前CRP/Alb,运用受试者工作特征曲线、生存分析和Cox多元回归分析评价CRP/Alb与预后的关系。
结果CRP/Alb比值的最佳界点为0.46,敏感度为70.45%,特异度为73.97%。与低CRP/Alb组相比,高CRP/Alb组的CRP水平较高、Alb水平较低、Child-Pugh分级较高、肿瘤最长径较大、血管浸润比例较多,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.001)。Kaplan-Meier曲线显示高CRP/Alb组的生存率较低(26.8% vs. 56.8%, P<0.001)。Cox多元回归分析显示CRP/Alb、Child-Pugh分级、血管浸润是预后的独立危险因素。
结论术前CRP/Alb比值升高提示原发性肝癌患者预后不良,是影响患者预后的独立危险因素。
Abstract:ObjectiveTo assess the prognostic value of C-reactive protein/albumin (CRP/Alb) ratio on patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
MethodsA total of 178 cases with HCC were enrolled. The pre-operative CRP/Alb ratio was calculated. The receiver operating characteristic curve, survival analysis and multivariate analysis were performed to identify the effect of CRP/Alb ratio on the prognosis of HCC patients.
ResultsThe best cutoff level for CRP/Alb ratio was 0.46, sensitivity was 70.45%, and specificity was 73.97%. Compared with the low CRP/Alb group, the high CRP/Alb group showed higher CRP levels, lower Alb level, higher Child-Pugh grade, larger tumor maximum diameter and larger proportion of vascular invasion, with statistical significance (P<0.001). The Kaplan-Meier curve displayed that lower survival rate in the high CRP/Alb group than that in low CRP/Alb group (26.8% vs. 56.8%, P<0.001). The Cox multivariate analysis showed that CRP/Alb, Child-Pugh grade and vascular invasion were independent risk factors for the prognosis.
ConclusionThe elevated CRP/Alb ratio at baseline indicates poor prognosis of patients with HCC, and may be an important independent prognostic factor for the prognosis.
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Key words:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma /
- C-reactive protein /
- Albumin /
- Prognosis
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0 引言
肝细胞癌(hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC)是我国死亡人数第二位的恶性肿瘤,虽然近年来HCC的筛查和诊疗技术得到长足发展,然而HCC患者的预后仍较差,严重影响了人们的健康[1-2]。研究发现,机体的免疫炎性反应是肿瘤发展的重要病理过程,与预后不良密切相关[3-4]。近来,多种炎症相关的评分被开发用来评价肿瘤患者的预后,例如Glasgow预后评分、中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值、预后营养指数等,显示与患者预后密切相关[5]。C反应蛋白(C-reactive protein, CRP)是反映炎性状态的重要指标,白蛋白(Albumin, Alb)由肝脏合成,不仅反映机体的营养状态,还能反映肝功能,既往研究CRP/Alb与败血症患者预后密切相关[6-7]。然而,CRP/Alb是否能够预测HCC患者的预后尚不清楚。为此,本研究通过随访,分析了CRP/Alb与HCC患者预后的关系,为评价这一简便易得的指标的临床意义提供证据。
1 资料与方法
1.1 临床资料
选取2011年1月—2014年1月在湖北省肿瘤医院行手术治疗的HCC患者,均经过影像学和组织标本病理切片确诊,按2001年中国抗癌协会肝癌专业委员会制定的《原发性肝癌的临床诊断和分期标准》进行诊断[8]。纳入标准:未经术前辅助治疗的首次手术治疗肝癌患者。排除标准:(1)术前曾行放化疗;(2)术前有感染或炎性疾病;(3)缺乏完整资料;(4)围手术期发生严重并发症或死亡。最终178例患者入选,其中男127例,女51例,平均年龄67.9岁。
1.2 CRP/Alb与临床特征
于术前1周内行血清学和影像学检查,根据CRP和Alb水平计算术前CRP/Alb比值。同时纳入其他相关临床特征作为变量,包括丙氨酸氨基转移酶(alanine aminotransferase, ALT)、天门冬氨酸氨基转移酶(aspartate amino transferase, AST)、甲胎蛋白(alphafetoprotein, AFP)、Child-Pugh分级等。
1.3 随访
通过电话、门诊和病历资料等方式进行随访,所有病例均随访至2015年6月30日,终点事件定义为因HCC发生的死亡事件,总生存时间为手术时间至随访结束或终点事件发生时。
1.4 统计学方法
所有数据均采用SPSS21.0软件分析,计量资料用(x±s)表示,两组比较采用独立样本t检验;计数资料用百分率表示,两组间比较采用χ2检验;用受试者工作特征曲线(receiver operating characteristic curve, ROC)分析变量的预测价值;采用Kaplan-Meier法和Log rank检验进行生存分析,采用Cox比例风险回归模型分析预后的影响因素;以P<0.05为差异有统计学意义。
2 结果
2.1 CRP/Alb的截点
平均随访35.6月(19~55月),共有106例(59.6%)患者发生终点事件。根据术前的CRP/Alb建立患者生存状态的ROC曲线,得到的最佳截点为0.46,曲线下面积为0.717,敏感度为70.45%,特异度为73.97%,见图 1。
2.2 CRP/Alb与临床特征的关系
根据0.46的截点,将患者分为高CRP/Alb组(>0.46)和低CRP/Alb组(≤0.46),分别为97例和81例患者。两组患者的平均年龄、性别构成比、ALT、AST、AFP等临床特征相近,差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05)。而与低CRP/Alb组相比,高CRP/Alb组的CRP水平较高、Alb水平较低、Child-Pugh分级较高、肿瘤最长径较大、血管浸润比例较高,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.001),见表 1。
表 1 低CRP/Alb组与高CRP/Alb组患者的临床特征比较Table 1 Comparison of clinical characteristics between low CRP/Alb group and high CRP/Alb group2.3 CRP/Alb与预后的关系
随访结束时,高CRP/Alb组有71例(73.2%)患者发生终点事件,而低CRP/Alb组只有35例(43.2%)。两组的生存率分别为26.8%和56.8%,Kaplan-Meier曲线显示高CRP/Alb组的生存率显著小于低CRP/Alb组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.001),见图 2。Cox多因素回归分析显示,CRP/Alb、Child-Pugh分级、血管浸润是影响患者预后的独立危险因素,见表 2。
表 2 HCC患者预后影响因素的Cox回归分析Table 2 Risk factors of prognosis of HCC patients analyzed by Cox multivariate model3 讨论
免疫炎性反应与肿瘤的发生发展关系密切,可能与以下机制相关:肿瘤生长或侵袭的诱导;肿瘤组织坏死和缺氧,局部组织破坏;肿瘤细胞和肿瘤相关因子会诱导炎性因子产生,如肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)、白介素-1(IL-1)、白介素-6(IL-6)、白介素-8(IL-8)和血管内皮生长因子(VEGF),这些炎性因子和趋化因子将会易化肿瘤生长、浸润、转移、血管生成,破坏宿主的免疫反应,以及细胞药物抵抗[9-10]。CRP是在组织损伤等炎性刺激时,由肝脏细胞合成的急性相蛋白质,反映机体的系统炎性反应,高CRP水平是恶性肿瘤不良预后的预测指标[11-14]。白蛋白是反应机体营养状态的重要指标,也由肝脏细胞合成,白蛋白浓度下降常因进行性体重减轻和恶病质导致[15]。在本研究中,我们将CRP和Alb结合,能够综合反映HCC患者的炎性反应和营养状态,有可能预测HCC患者的临床结局。
本研究纳入首次手术的HCC患者,平均随访35.6月,运用ROC曲线计算CRP/Alb预测患者发生终点事件的最佳截点为0.46。采用此方法,一方面立足于本研究的特定人群,具有良好的实用性和科学性。结果显示,ROC曲线下面积为0.717,提示该截点具有一定的临床适用性。通过比较,发现CRP/Alb与疾病临床特征相关,高CRP/Alb患者的Child-Pugh分期更高,表明患者肝功能储备下降。生存分析显示,高CRP/Alb患者的远期生存率较低,多元回归发现,CRP/Alb是HCC患者预后的独立危险因素。Ranzani等发现与单纯CRP相比,CRP/Alb能够更准确地预测败血症患者的预后[16]。Mocellin等给结直肠癌患者补充不饱和脂肪酸,能够降低CRP/Alb,最终预防患者的体重下降[17]。CRP和Alb是临床上简便易得,又十分有用的指标,本研究将其应用扩展到评价HCC患者预后上,结果表明CRP/Alb具有良好的预测价值。Kinoshita等[18]还将CRP/Alb与其他相关炎性积分作对比,发现CRP/Alb与HCC患者的预后关系更加密切,虽然和本研究相比,纳入的人群不一致,但是结果均提示CRP/Alb在评估HCC患者的远期生存上具有良好的临床价值。
综上所述,CRP/Alb能够反应HCC的疾病状态和炎性反应,是HCC患者预后的独立预测因子。下一步需要扩大样本量,并分析治疗前后CRP/Alb的变化,评价CRP/Alb是否能够作为反映疗效的指标,有助于制定HCC的治疗策略,改善其预后。
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表 1 低CRP/Alb组与高CRP/Alb组患者的临床特征比较
Table 1 Comparison of clinical characteristics between low CRP/Alb group and high CRP/Alb group
表 2 HCC患者预后影响因素的Cox回归分析
Table 2 Risk factors of prognosis of HCC patients analyzed by Cox multivariate model
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