Prognostic Value of the Albumin-to-Alkaline Phosphatase Ratio before Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Nonmetastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the albumin-to-alkaline phosphatase ratio (AAPR) in patients with nonmetastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Patients with nonmetastatic NPC who underwent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) were retrospectively analyzed. The AAPR was calculated using the last value of albumin to alkaline phosphatase that was measured within 1 week before CRT. The optimal cutoff value for the AAPR value was determined by an X-tile plot. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the differences of the baseline characteristics. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to calculate the survival. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was conducted for the multivariate analysis. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Totally, 87 patients with nonmetastatic NPC who underwent CRT were included in the analysis. The optimal cutoff level for the AAPR was 0.46. The group with an AAPR ≤0.46 was more likely to have poorer overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) (<i>p</i> = 0.023, <i>p</i> = 0.031 and <i>p</i> = 0.027, for OS, PFS, and DMFS, respectively). In Cox proportional hazards analysis, high AAPR was a better prognostic predictor. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> AAPR may be a reliable prognostic index for nonmetastatic NPC patients.