Pretreatment albumin/fibrinogen ratio as a promising predictor for the survival of advanced non small-cell lung cancer patients undergoing first-line platinum-based chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify potential predictive factors for the survival of advanced non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. METHODS: A total of 270 advanced NSCLC patients who underwent first-line platinum-based chemotherapy from June, 2011 to June, 2015 were enrolled. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive value of the albumin-to-fibrinogen ratio (AFR) for overall survival (OS). The predictive factors for survival were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses via the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The OS and progression free survival (PFS) results were determined via the Kaplan–Meier method using the log-rank analysis. RESULTS: Based on the results of the ROC curve analysis, 8.02 was accepted as the cut-off AFR value for OS. The metastasis stage (M0 vs M1a/b, HR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.15–2.59, P = 0.020) and AFR (≤8.02 vs > 8.02, HR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.09–2.78, P = 0.025) were two independent risk factors for PFS by multivariate Cox regression analysis. The AFR (≤8.02 vs > 8.02, HR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.11–2.59, P = 0.029) was a significant predictive factor for OS in advanced NSCLC patients. The PFS (P = 0.008) and OS (P = 0.003) in the high AFR group were significantly improved compared with those in the low AFR group via the Kaplan–Meier method using the log-rank analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The AFR could be a potential effective predictive factor for the survival in advanced NSCLC patients undergoing first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.