Preoperative C-reactive protein to albumin ratio predicts anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal cancer: a single-center retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Postoperative anastomotic leakage (AL) is associated with not only prolonged hospital stay and increased medical costs, but also poor prognosis in esophageal cancer. Several studies have addressed the utility of various inflammation-based and/or nutritional markers as predictors for postoperative complications. However, none have been documented as specific predictors for AL in esophageal cancer. We aimed to identify predictors of AL after esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal cancer, focusing on preoperative inflammation-based and/or nutritional markers. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 295 patients who underwent radical esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma between June 2007 and July 2020. As inflammation-based and/or nutritional markers, Onodera prognostic nutritional index, C-reactive protein (CRP)-to-albumin ratio (CAR) and modified Glasgow prognostic score were investigated. Optimal cut-off values of inflammation-based and/or nutritional markers for AL were determined by receiver operating characteristic curves. Predictors for AL were analyzed by logistic regression modeling. RESULTS: AL was observed in 34 patients (11.5%). In univariate analyses, preoperative body mass index (≥ 22.1 kg/m(2)), serum albumin level (≤ 3.8 g/dL), serum CRP level (≥ 0.06 mg/dL), CAR (≥ 0.0139), operation time (> 565 min) and blood loss (≥ 480 mL) were identified as predictors of AL. Multivariate analyses revealed higher preoperative CAR (≥ 0.0139) as an independent predictor of AL (p = 0.048, odds ratio = 3.02, 95% confidence interval 1.01–9.06). CONCLUSION: Preoperative CAR may provide a useful predictor of AL after esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.