Predictive value of CAS grade combining preoperative albumin-globulin score and skeletal muscle index for postoperative outcomes of pancreatic cancer
10.3760/cma.j.cn115667-20230703-00088
- VernacularTitle:术前白蛋白-球蛋白评分与骨骼肌指数的联合指标CAS分级对胰腺癌患者术后的预测价值
- Author:
Rongjian CAO
1
;
Xiaoyun LI
;
Xueguo SUN
;
Xiaowei WANG
;
Yan LIU
;
Xue JING
Author Information
1. 山东省立第三医院全科医学科，济南 250000
- Keywords:
Pancreatic neoplasms;
Overall survival;
Prognosis;
Inflammatory markers
- From:
Chinese Journal of Pancreatology
2024;24(4):278-286
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the prognostic value of the combined preoperative albumin-globulin score (AGS) and skeletal muscle index (SMI), referred to as the CAS classification, in predicting postoperative outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer.Methods:The clinical data from 265 patients who underwent surgical treatment and were pathologically confirmed to have pancreatic cancer at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University between January 2012 and December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were randomly divided into a training group ( n=184) and a validation group ( n=81) in a 7∶3 ratio. Patients' age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking history, alcohol consumption history, previous history of metabolic diseases, AGS, SMI, and CAS classifications within 7 days before surgery, preoperative upper abdominal CT imaging features, presence of vascular and neural invasion, and lymph node metastasis were recorded. Patients with AGS grade 0 were classified into the low AGS group ( n=48), while those with AGS grades 1 and 2 were classified into the high AGS group ( n=136). The optimal cutoff value for SMI was determined using X-tile software: male patients with SMI>42.6 cm 2/m 2 or female patients with SMI>37.8 cm 2/m 2 were categorized into the high SMI group ( n=125), while those below these thresholds were categorized into the low SMI group ( n=59). Patients with AGS grade 0 and SMI>42.6 cm 2/m 2 for males or >37.8 cm 2/m 2 for females were classified into the CAS grade 1 group (n=32). Patients with AGS grades 1 or 2 and SMI ≤42.6 cm 2/m 2 for males or ≤37.8 cm 2/m 2 for females were classified into the CAS grade 3 group ( n=43). The remaining patients were classified into the CAS grade 2 group ( n=109). Clinical characteristics were compared across these groups. Cumulative survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and survival curves were plotted to analyze the relationship between AGS, SMI, and CAS classifications and overall survival after pancreatic cancer surgery. Differences among groups were assessed using the Log-Rank test. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were plotted, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the predictive efficacy of AGS, SMI, and CAS on postoperative survival. Results:Compared to the high AGS group, the low AGS group exhibited higher SMI values [(46.17±9.63) cm 2/m 2vs (44.11±7.43) cm 2/m 2], and a lower incidence of lymph node metastasis (16 vs 66, 33.3% vs 48.5%). The mortality rate in the low AGS group was 50.0%(24/48), significantly lower than the 70.6% (96/136) observed in the high AGS group, with a median overall survival of 22.08 months (95% CI 16.87-29.62) longer than 13.1 months (95% CI 8.84-18.82) in high AGS group. Compared to the low SMI group, the high SMI group had a lower prevalence of metabolic diseases (26.4% vs 44.1%). The mortality rate in the low SMI group was 78.0% (46/59), higher than the 58.4% (73/125) in the high SMI group, with a median overall survival of 12.97 months (95% CI 9.37-18.20) obviously shorter than 16.20 months (95% CI 10.7-24.12) in high SMI group. Lymph node metastasis rate for CAS grade 1, 2, and 3 was 34.4% ( n=11), 44.0% ( n=48), and 62.8% ( n=27), respectively, with corresponding mortality rate of 34.3% (11/32), 67.9% (74/109), and 79.1% (34/43), and median overall survival time of 25.55 months (95% CI 19.49-30.07), 14.10 months (95% CI 10.22-19.14), and 12.5 months (95% CI 8.53-18.00), respectively. All the differences were statistically significant (all P value <0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analyses demonstrated that patients in the low AGS group had significantly longer overall survival than those in the high AGS group in both the training and validation cohorts. Similarly, patients in the high SMI group had longer overall survival compared to those in the low SMI group. Notably, patients in CAS grade 1 exhibited the longest overall survival, whereas those in CAS grade 3 had the shortest. ROC curve analysis revealed that the AUC for CAS classification was superior in the training cohort (0.649) compared to AGS (0.588) and SMI (0.593), and in the validation cohort (0.644) compared to AGS (0.587) and SMI (0.577). Conclusions:CAS classification could effectively predict postoperative prognosis in pancreatic cancer patients, with higher CAS grades correlating with poorer outcomes.
