Improving postoperative outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer: Inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers

Table 1 Prognostic inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers in pancreatic cancer: Summary of clinical utility and emerging insights¹

Biomarker	Prognostic role	Clinical utility	Ref.
CRP	Elevated levels are associated with poor prognosis and increased mortality in pancreatic cancer patients	CRP is a readily available marker used in various prognostic scoring systems	Lu et al[1], 2024; Zhang et al[5], 2024
Albumin	Low serum albumin is indicative of poor nutritional status and is linked to worse overall survival in pancreatic cancer	Used in combination with other markers to assess the nutritional status and predict outcomes	Long et al[2], 2024; Liu et al[13], 2023
NLR	A higher NLR correlates with a more aggressive tumor phenotype and reduced survival	NLR is used in prognostic models to stratify patients and guide treatment decisions	Zhang et al[5], 2024; Gu et al[4], 2024
LCR	LCR offers a better predictive value for survival compared to CRP alone, especially in advanced-stage cancers	LCR is increasingly being incorporated into prognostic nomograms for more accurate predictions	Jiang et al[14], 2022; Zhang et al[18], 2022
PNI	Lower PNI values are associated with decreased overall survival and increased postoperative complications	PNI is valuable in preoperative risk assessment and tailoring postoperative care	Liang et al[11], 2022; Wang et al[19], 2024
SIRI	Elevated SIRI indicates a heightened inflammatory state, correlating with poor prognosis	SIRI is used in conjunction with other markers to refine prognostic evaluations	Long et al[2], 2024; Liu et al[13], 2023
TIIN score	Combines multiple biomarkers to provide a comprehensive prognosis, particularly useful in advanced cancers	TIIN score is emerging as a robust tool for predicting outcomes and guiding personalized treatment strategies	Zhang et al[5], 2024
AAPR	Lower AAPR is associated with worse survival outcomes in pancreatic cancer patients	AAPR is used to enhance the accuracy of prognostic assessments, especially when combined with other clinical factors	Wang et al[19], 2024
GPS	A composite score incorporating CRP and albumin levels, with higher scores indicating poor prognosis	GPS is well-established in clinical practice for risk stratification in various cancers, including pancreatic cancer	Lu et al[1], 2024; Pang et al[20], 2021

¹For each biomarker, the table outlines its prognostic significance, clinical utility, and supporting references. The data underscore the importance of these biomarkers in predicting patient outcomes, facilitating risk stratification, and guiding personalized treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer.

CRP: C-reactive protein; NLR: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; LCR: Lymphocyte-to-C-reactive protein ratio; PNI: Prognostic nutritional index; SIRI: Systemic inflammatory response index; TIIN: The tumor morphology immune-inflammatory nutrition; AAPR: Albumin-to-alkaline phosphatase ratio; GPS: Glasgow prognostic score.