Huang H, et al. – A research was carried out to gauge the relationship between pretreatment serum liver function tests (LFTs) and overall survival (OS) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. In these patients, both increased levels of LSR and decreased levels of gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) appeared to predict shorter overall survival. This study suggested the use of serum LSR and GGT levels as a key predictor of survival in patients with ESCC.

Methods

• The prognostic value of the preoperative alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase (ALT/AST) ratio and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) was investigated in ESCC patients.
• The clinicians regulated a retrospective study in 447 patients with ESCC.
• In addition, follow-up period was at least 60 months until death.
• Univariate and multivariate Cox hazard models delineated the prognostic significance of serum LFTs.

Results

• This study determine LFTs including ALT, AST, LSR, GGT, TBA and LDH.
• They demonstrated serum LSR (HR: 0.592, 95% CI = 0.457–0.768, p < 0.001 and GGT (HR: 1.507, 95% CI = 1.163–1.953, p = 0.002) levels as significant predictors of OS.
• Not only in the whole cohort but also in the subgroups stratified by pathological stage (T1–T2 subgroup, T3–T4 subgroup, N0 subgroup and M0 subgroup), the 5-year OS among patients with higher LSR levels was longer compared with those patients with decreased LSR levels.
• Not only in the whole cohort but also in the subgroups stratified by pathological stage (T3–T4 subgroup and N1-N2 subgroup), patients with a higher GGT seemed to predict worse OS than patients with a normal GGT.