Superiority of CRP-albumin-lymphocyte index (CALLY index) as a non-invasive prognostic biomarker after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma

We aimed to investigate whether a novel biomarker incorporating albumin, lymphocytes, and CRP can predict the prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy.Between January 2011 and December 2013, 384 patients who underwent hepatectomy in four university hospitals in Japan were investigated as a discovery cohort. The CRP-Albumin-Lymphocyte (CALLY index) was defined as (Albumin × Lymphocyte)/(CRP × 104). Patients with a CALLY index ≥5 (n = 200) were compared to those with an index <5 (n = 184). Next, validation was performed using 267 patients from three other university hospitals (external validation cohort).The number of TNM Stage III and IV patients was significantly higher in the CALLY <5 group than the ≥5 group (p = 0.003). There was a significant difference in the 5-year survival rate (CALLY ≥5: 71% vs. <5: 46%; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified the CALLY index as an independent factor of overall survival. Similarly, there was a significant difference in the 5-year survival rate between the CALLY ≥5 (73%) and <5 (48%) groups (p < 0.001), and the CALLY index was identified as an independent prognostic factor in the external validation cohort.The CALLY index derived from CRP, albumin, and lymphocyte values is a promising predictive biomarker for postoperative prognosis of patients with HCC.