Prognostic significance of combined preoperative fibrinogen and CA199 in gallbladder cancer patients

AIM To investigate the prognostic value of the combination of preoperative plasma fibrinogen and CA199 in patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GbC). METHODS The clinicopathological data of 154 GbC patients were retrospectively reviewed after surgery. A receiver 1451 April 7, 2018|Volume 24|Issue 13| WJG|www.wjgnet.com ORIGINAL ARTICLE Prognostic significance of combined preoperative fibrinogen and CA199 in gallbladder cancer patients Retrospective Study Wei-Yu Xu, Hao-Hai Zhang, Xiao-bo Yang, Yi bai, Jian-Zhen Lin, Jun-Yu Long, Jian-Ping Xiong, Jun-Wei Zhang, Xin-Ting Sang, Hai-Tao Zhao Submit a Manuscript: http://www.f6publishing.com DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i13.1451 World J Gastroenterol 2018 April 7; 24(13): 1451-1463 ISSN 1007-9327 (print) ISSN 2219-2840 (online) operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to verify the optimum cut-off values for plasma fibrinogen and CA199. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with GbC prognosis. based on the HRs calculated via multivariate survival analyses, patients with elevated plasma fibrinogen and CA199 levels were allocated a score of 2.1; those with an elevated plasma fibrinogen level only were allocated a score of 1, those with an elevated CA199 level only were allocated a score of 1.1, and those with neither of these abnormalities were allocated a score of 0. RESULTS ROC curve analysis showed that the optimum cut-off values for preoperative plasma fibrinogen and CA199 were 3.47 g/L and 25.45 U/mL, respectively. Multivariate analysis indicated that elevated preoperative plasma fibrinogen and CA199 levels were significantly correlated with worse overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.711, 95%CI: 1.114-2.627, P = 0.014, and HR = 1.842, 95%CI: 1.111-3.056, P = 0.018). When we combined these two parameters, the area under the ROC curve increased from 0.735 (for preoperative plasma fibrinogen only) and 0.729 (for preoperative CA199 only) to 0.765. When this combined variable was added to the multivariate analysis, the combination of plasma fibrinogen and CA199 (P < 0.001), resection margin (P < 0.001) and TNM stage (P = 0.010) were independent prognostic factors for GbC. CONCLUSION The combination of plasma fibrinogen and CA199 may serve as a more efficient independent prognostic biomarker for postoperative GbC patients than either parameter alone.