Prognostic values of preoperative C-reactive protein, albumin, and neutrophil ratios in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who underwent extrapleural pneumonectomy.

INTRODUCTION

A preoperative validation system for predicting the clinical outcome of extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is required, as EPP for MPM is one of the most invasive operation types. Recently, several inflammatory and nutritional parameters, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin, have been re-focused on as useful prognostic factors for several types of cancer; however, few of these reports involved MPM.

METHODS

As a retrospective study, clinicopathological characteristics and preoperative inflammatory and nutritional parameters were calculated in consecutive patients with MPM who underwent EPP. The prognostic value of the variables was examined using Cox regression, and the candidate preoperative parameters were entered into a multivariate model to determine their independent effects.

RESULTS

Of the 61 eligible cases, the CRP/albumin ratio (CAR) was associated with histology, and the CRP index multiplied by the neutrophil ratio (C-NR index) was associated with histology and pathological stage. Patients with CAR >0.125 had a significantly poor survival outcome, and patients with a C-NR index >0.58 also had a significantly poor prognosis. Multivariate analysis showed that age, histology, CRP, albumin, CAR, and C-NR index were independent predictors of 5-year overall survival.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrated that the CAR and C-NR indices are promising preoperative predictive parameters for the clinical outcomes of EPP in patients with MPM.