Serum liver enzymes serve as prognostic factors in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Objective: Liver functions, reflective of the overall status of the host, have been reported to be important factors affecting the prognosis in many types of cancers. In this study, we explored the influences of liver enzymes albumin (ALB), globulin (GELO), total protein (TP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), gamma glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) on the overall survival (OS) in a number of 173 patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Patients and methods: Between 2011 and 2015, we enrolled patients with pathologically proven locally advanced or metastatic ICC. The impact of ALB, GELO, TP, ALP, ALT, AST, TBIL, DBIL, GGT, and LDH on OS were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier analysis. Next, the associations between these liver enzymes and OS were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Finally, the role of these enzymes in OS was evaluated in the subgroups. Results: Elevated liver enzymes were linked with OS. We revealed that independent prognostic factors of poor outcome were ALP, TBIL, DBIL, and GGT, whereas ALB is a protective factor in ICC patients. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that these liver enzymes may serve as valuable predictive markers in ICC patients. Keywords: liver enzymes, prognosis, overall survival, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma