Published online Sep 15, 2023. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v15.i9.1662
Peer-review started: May 31, 2023
First decision: July 23, 2023
Revised: August 4, 2023
Accepted: August 18, 2023
Article in press: August 18, 2023
Published online: September 15, 2023
Fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) has been found significantly associated with survival of some types of cancer. Less is known regarding to its association with prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.
We intend to thoroughly discuss the association between baseline serum FAR and the overall survival (OS) for HCC patients.
To provide estimation for the association between baseline FAR and the OS of HCC patients, and to discuss potential effect modification by some important characteristics of the patients.
Retrospective study design was used to identify qualified HCC patients from a provincial cancer hospital in China. Relevant information was extracted from the Hospital Information System. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted to compare the OS of HCC patients with different baseline serum FAR levels. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to estimate the adjusted association between FAR and the OS of HCC patients. The Restricted Cubic Spline was used to further delineate the dose-response association.
A lower baseline serum FAR level was associated with an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.43 (95% confidence interval: 1.87–3.15) in the OS of HCC patients, with identifiable dose-response trend. The FAR-OS association was more prominent in HCC patients with a lower baseline serum aspartate aminotransferase or carbohydrate antigen 125 level.
Serum FAR is a prominent prognostic indicator for HCC.
Intervention measures which aiming at regulating serum FAR might of clinical interest for treating HCC patients.