Pre-operative hypoalbuminemia is associated with complication rate and overall survival in patients with vulvar cancer undergoing surgery

Objective Hypoalbuminemia, a known marker for malnutrition, has been associated with an increased risk for perioperative morbidity and poor prognosis in patients with solid tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic and predictive value of pre-treatment serum albumin levels for survival and postoperative complications in patients with vulvar cancer undergoing surgery. Methods Within in this retrospective study, we assessed data of 103 consecutive patients with vulvar cancer undergoing primary surgery into this study. Pre-treatment serum albumin levels were correlated with clinico-pathological parameters and complications. We performed univariate log-rank test and multivariable Cox regression models to evaluate the association between pre-treatment serum albumin and survival. Results We found hypoalbuminemia (< 35 mg/dl) in 9 of 103 (8.7%) patients. No difference in tumor characteristics was observed between patients with hypoalbuminemia and normal serum albumin levels. Difference in postoperative complications (55.6% and 37.8% of patients with hypoalbuminemia and normal serum albumin levels, respectively) was not statistically significant (p = 0.345). Shorter overall survival (OS) was observed in patients with hypoalbuminemia (5-year OS rate 17.1%) when compared to patients with normal serum albumin levels (5-year OS rate 58.6%, p = 0.004). In multivariable analysis, age (p = 0.017), FIGO stage (p = 0.011) and serum albumin levels (p = 0.013) were independently associated with OS. Conclusion Pre-treatment hypoalbuminemia is an independent prognostic biomarker for OS in patients with vulvar cancer. We did not find an association between pre-treatment hypoalbuminemia and a higher risk for postoperative complications.