Prognostic Value of Routinely Measured Inflammatory Biomarkers in Older Cancer Patients: Pooled Analysis of Three Cohorts

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The prognostic assessment of older cancer patients is complicated by their heterogeneity. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of routinely measured inflammatory biomarkers. We performed a pooled analysis of prospective multicenter cohorts of cancer patients aged ≥70. We measured CRP and albumin, and calculated Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) and CRP/albumin ratio. The GPS has three levels (0 = CRP ≤ 10 mg/L, albumin ≥ 35 g/L, i.e., normal values; 1 = one abnormal value; 2 = two abnormal values). Overall, 1800 patients were analyzed (mean age: 79 ± 6; males: 62%; metastases: 38%). The GPS and CRP/albumin ratio were independently associated with mortality. The discriminative power of the baseline clinical model was increased by adding GPS and CRP/albumin ratio. Routine inflammatory biomarkers add prognostic value to clinical factors in older cancer patients. ABSTRACT: Background: The prognostic assessment of older cancer patients is complicated by their heterogeneity. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of routine inflammatory biomarkers. Methods: A pooled analysis of prospective multicenter cohorts of cancer patients aged ≥70 was performed. We measured CRP and albumin, and calculated Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) and CRP/albumin ratio. The GPS has three levels (0 = CRP ≤ 10 mg/L, albumin ≥ 35 g/L, i.e., normal values; 1 = one abnormal value; 2 = two abnormal values). One-year mortality was assessed using Cox models. Discriminative power was assessed using Harrell’s C index (C) and net reclassification improvement (NRI). Results: Overall, 1800 patients were analyzed (mean age: 79 ± 6; males: 62%; metastases: 38%). The GPS and CRP/albumin ratio were independently associated with mortality in patients not at risk of frailty (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] = 4.48 [2.03–9.89] for GPS1, 11.64 [4.54–29.81] for GPS2, and 7.15 [3.22–15.90] for CRP/albumin ratio > 0.215) and in patients at risk of frailty (2.45 [1.79–3.34] for GPS1, 3.97 [2.93–5.37] for GPS2, and 2.81 [2.17–3.65] for CRP/albumin ratio > 0.215). The discriminative power of the baseline clinical model (C = 0.82 [0.80–0.83]) was increased by adding GPS (C = 0.84 [0.82–0.85]; NRI events (NRI+) = 10% [2–16]) and CRP/albumin ratio (C = 0.83 [0.82–0.85]; NRI+ = 14% [2–17]). Conclusions: Routine inflammatory biomarkers add prognostic value to clinical factors in older cancer patients.