Affiliations: [a] Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, Ankara, Turkey | [b] Department of Internal Medicine, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey | [c] Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara Liv Hospital, Istinye University, Ankara, Turkey
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Deniz Can Guven, Department of Medical Oncology, Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, 06100 Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey. Tel.: +90 505 721 5849; Fax: +90 312 310 01 95; E-mail: deniz.can.guven@hacettepe.edu.tr.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The albumin-globulin ratio (AGR) could be a prognostic biomarker in patients with cancer, although the data is limited in patients treated with immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the association between AGR and survival in ICI-treated patients. METHODS: The data of 212 advanced-stage patients were retrospectively evaluated in this cohort study. The association between AGR with overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated with multivariate analyses. Additionally, receptor operating curve (ROC) analysis was conducted to assess the AGR’s predictive power in the very early progression (progression within two months) and long-term benefit (more than twelve months survival). RESULTS: The median AGR was calculated as 1.21, and patients were classified into AGR-low and high subgroups according to the median. In the multivariate analyses, patients with lower AGR (< 1.21) had decreased OS (HR: 1.530, 95% CI: 1.100–2.127, p= 0.011) and PFS (HR: 1.390, 95% CI: 1.020–1.895, p= 0.037). The area under curve of AGR to detect early progression and long-term benefit were 0.654 (95% CI: 0.562–0.747, p= 0.001) and 0.671 (95% CI: 0.598–0.744, p< 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, survival with ICIs was impaired in patients with lower AGR. Additionally, the AGR values could detect the very early progression and long-term benefit ICIs.
