High C-Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio Predicts Inferior Clinical Outcomes in Extranodal Natural Killer T-Cell Lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE: The prognostic value of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) has been identified in several cancers but not in extranodal natural killer T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL) as yet. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of CAR in ENKTL. METHODS: A retrospective study with 246 patients with ENKTL was performed to determine the prognostic value of pretreatment CAR and examine the prognostic performance of CAR incorporating with International Prognostic Index (IPI) or natural killer/T-cell lymphoma prognostic index (NKPI) by nomogram. RESULTS: The Cox regression analyses showed that high CAR (>0.3) independently predicted unfavorable progression-free survival (PFS, P = .011) and overall survival (OS, P = .012). In the stratification analysis, the CAR was able to separate patients into different prognoses regarding both OS and PFS in Ann Arbor stage I+II as well as III+IV, IPI score 0 to 1, and NKPI score 1 to 2 subgroups (all P < .05). Additionally, the predictive accuracy of the IPI-based nomogram incorporating CAR, albumin to globulin ratio (AGR), and IPI for OS and PFS appeared to be lower than the NKPI-based nomogram incorporating CAR, age, AGR, extranodal site, and NKPI. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment CAR is a simple and easily accessible parameter for independently predicting OS and PFS in patients with ENKTL.

Cyclooxygenase-2 polymorphisms and bladder cancer risk: a meta-analysis based on case-control studies.

The current meta-analysis incorporating 15 case-control studies involving 4,138 cases and 4,269 controls was performed on the basis of a systematical search in electronic databases for a more precise estimation on the associations of three common polymorphisms -765 G>C (rs20417), -1195G>A (rs689466) and +8473 C>T (rs5275) in Cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) gene with the susceptibility to bladder cancer. The results showed that there was a significant association between rs5275 polymorphism and bladder cancer risk (C vs. T; OR=0.84; CC vs. TT: OR=0.76), especially among Chinese (CC vs. TC+TT: OR=0.48) and American (C vs. T; OR=0.83; TC vs. TT: OR=0.73; CC+TC vs. TT: OR=0.73). and the rs20417 polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer among Chinese (C vs. G: OR=1.46; GC vs. GG: OR=1.49; CC+GC vs. GG: OR=1.51) and Indian (GC vs. GG: OR=1.63; CC+GC vs. GG: OR=1.46), but a reduced risk among American (C vs. G: OR=0.81; GC vs. GG: OR=0.76; CC+GC vs. GG: OR=0.76). Additionally, we found that the rs689466 polymorphism was associated with a decreased risk of bladder cancer in Indian (GA vs. GG: OR=0.68; AA vs. GG: OR=0.39).The present meta-analysis suggests that Cox-2 rs5275 polymorphism may contribute to the risk of bladder cancer, particularly among Chinese and American. The rs20417 polymorphism may play a protective role in the development of bladder cancer in Indian and Chinese but act as a risk factor among American, while the rs689466 polymorphism was more likely to be associated with a decreased risk of bladder cancer in Indian.