Background/aim: We aimed to clarify the roles of CRP and albumin as independent prognostic factors for stage IV gastric cancer (stIVGC) patients. The optimal cut-off value for these two markers was investigated.
Patients and methods: 123 stIVGC patients presented at our Medical Center from April, 2005 to March, 2011 were investigated. Clinicopathological, tumor-specific and treatment factors were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional regression models were used to identify for favorable factors affecting overall survival. The Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was utilized to determine cut-off values.
Results: Multivariate analysis revealed CRP (hazard ratio (HR): 1.11; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.18) to be an independent prognostic factor for survival. According to the results of the analysis albumin was excluded. ROC curve of the 3-month-prognosis patients revealed a maximum area under the curve of 0.85 and a cut-off value of 1.7 mg/dl.
Conclusion: CRP can be considered an independent prognostic factor for survival of stIVGC patients and can be used for short-term survival prediction.
Keywords: C-reactive protein; Stage IV gastric cancer; cut-off value; prognosis.