Impact of preoperative prealbumin levels on long-term prognosis in patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy: a retrospective cohort study

The relationship between preoperative prealbumin levels and long-term prognoses in patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy has not been fully investigated. This study clarified the effect of preoperative prealbumin levels on the long-term prognosis of patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy.

This retrospective cohort study included consecutive patients who underwent radical gastrectomy for primary pStage I–III gastric cancer and whose preoperative prealbumin levels were measured between May 2006 and March 2017. Participants were categorized according to their preoperative prealbumin levels into high (≥22 mg/dL), moderate (15–22 mg/dL), and low (<15 mg/dL) groups. The overall survival (OS) in the three groups was compared using the log-rank test, and prognostic factors were identified using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis.

The median follow-up duration was 66 months. Of 4732 patients, 3649 (77.2%) were classified as high, 925 (19.6%) as moderate, and 158 (3.3%) as low. Lower prealbumin levels were associated with poorer prognoses (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that prealbumin levels of 15–22 mg/dL [hazard ratio (HR): 1.576, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.353–1.835, P < 0.001] and <15 mg/dL (HR: 1.769, 95% CI: 1.376–2.276, P < 0.001) were independent poor prognostic factors for OS. When analyzed according to the cause of death, prealbumin levels were associated with other-cause survival, but not cancer-specific survival.

Preoperative prealbumin levels correlated with OS in patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy; the lower the prealbumin level, the worse is the prognosis. Prealbumin levels may be associated with other-cause survival.