Preoperative albumin/globulin ratio has predictive value for patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

// Wan-Zhi Chen 1, * , Shi-Tong Yu 2, * , Rong Xie 1 , Yun-Xia Lv 1 , De-Bin Xu 1 and Ji-Chun Yu 1 1 Department of Thyroid and Neck Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China 2 Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Ji-Chun Yu, email: yjchns@126.com Keywords: albumin/globulin ratio, laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, prognostic marker Received: February 20, 2017      Accepted: April 29, 2017      Published: June 12, 2017 ABSTRACT This study evaluated the predictive value of the preoperative albumin/globulin ratio (AGR) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) retrospectively, which has not been reported before. The current study enrolled 241 newly diagnosed LSCC patients in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between January 2005 and December 2010. The optimal AGR cut-off value for overall survival (OS) was determined to be 1.28. Univariate survival analysis identified sex, low AGR, T classification, histological grade and nodal metastasis as factors associated with poor OS. Additionally, a low AGR, T classification, nodal metastasis, and histological grade were associated with poor disease-free survival (DFS) in LSCC patients. In multivariate survival analysis, nodal metastasis and a low AGR remained significant for OS and DFS. Our preliminary study revealed that low preoperative AGR could serve as a valuable and easily-assessed blood-based indicator to predict the prognosis of LSCC patients.