Hypoalbuminemia and colorectal cancer patients: Any correlation?: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Background In malnourished patients with colorectal cancer, hypoalbuminemia is common and was proposed to determine the postoperative outcome of colorectal surgery. Mounting articles published but have not been evaluated. We aim to assess the predictive value of preoperative hypoalbuminemia in patients undergoing colorectal surgery.

Methods We performed a literature search from PubMed, Euro PMC, and Cochrane with the terms serum albumin, hypoalbuminemia, prognosis, outcome, colorectal cancer, and neoplasm. We also hand-searched and included any relevant papers. Hypoalbuminemia is defined as plasma albumin level

Results Hereof 7 observational studies (236,480 individuals) were included. Our meta-analysis found that preoperative hypoalbuminemia can predict the postoperative outcome in colorectal cancer patients. Individuals with hypoalbuminemia were not associated with 30-day mortality (risk ratio [RR] 2.05 [0.72, 5.86], P = .18, I2 = 99%) but were associated with morbidity (RR 2.28 [1.78, 2.93], P

Conclusions The current systematic review and meta-analysis showed that preoperative hypoalbuminemia was significantly associated with morbidity, length of stay, and surgical complication but not mortality.