Prognostic significance of FA score based on plasma fibrinogen and serum albumin in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the significance of fibrinogen and albumin (FA) score based on preoperative peripheral blood plasma fibrinogen and serum albumin in the prognosis of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: Patients’ clinicopathological data of 186 cases of EOC were retrospectively collected, and these patients were divided into three groups according to their FA scores (both plasma fibrinogen and serum albumin abnormal were allocated a score of 2; one of them abnormal were allocated a score of 1; neither of them abnormal were allocated a score of 0; optimal cut-off point is taken as the critical point whether the value is abnormal or not). Correlation between FA score in patients with EOC as well as clinicopathological features and overall survival (OS) was analyzed. RESULTS: (1) Receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the optimal cut-off point of plasma fibrinogen in the preoperative peripheral blood of patients with EOC was 3.63 g/L. The optimal cut-off point for serum albumin level was 42.45 g/L. (2) There was no significant difference in age, tumor size, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, C reactive protein and preoperative tumor marker CA125 between the three groups (FA score=0, FA score=1, FA score=2) (P>0.05). However, there was statistically significant difference in tumor grade, tumor stage and the presence of lymph node metastasis between different FA scoring groups (P<0.05). (3) Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that tumor size, tumor grade, tumor stage, plasma fibrinogen, serum albumin, FA score and tumor marker CA125 were statistically correlated with OS of EOC patients after surgery (P<0.05). The complex index FA score is superior to the single plasma fibrinogen and serum albumin when it comes to predicting prognosis. (4) FA score can better predict the prognosis of postoperative patients with EOC whose tumor size is ≥6 cm, whose EOC is advanced (stages III–IV) (P=0.0138) and whose tumor stage is medium or high grade (P=0.0005). CONCLUSION: FA score is closely related to the clinicopathological characteristics and OS of patients with EOC and is an independent risk factor indicating the prognosis of EOC patients.