Combined preoperative platelet-albumin ratio and cancer inflammation prognostic index predicts prognosis in colorectal cancer: a retrospective study

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has one of the highest incidence and mortality rates of any cancer worldwide, and the recurrence and metastasis rates after surgery remain high. The search for simple and reliable prognostic markers is essential to improve patient prognosis. In this study, we investigated the predictive value of two easy-to-measure preoperative markers, platelet-to-albumin ratio (PAR) and cancer inflammation prognostic index (CIPI), in postoperative survival of patients with CRC. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of a total of 434 CRC patients from two hospitals. Data from one of the institutions were used as a training cohort. The predictive ability of both markers was assessed using subject work characteristics (ROC) curves, with optimal cutoff values of 11.69 and 6.85 for CIPI and PAR, respectively, and high CIPI and PAR were independently associated with poorer overall survival. We developed nomogram of overall survival (OS), performed internal and external validation, and showed superior prognostic accuracy of the nomogram models. Our results suggest that combined CIPI and PAR can be used as a valid and accessible prognostic tool that is expected to help develop personalized treatment strategies for CRC patients.