Prognostic utility of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio in patients with solitary hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy

BACKGROUND The prognostic impact of preoperative gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR) levels in patients with solitary hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following radical resection has not been established. AIM To examine the clinical utility of GPR for prognosis prediction in solitary HBV-related HCC patients. METHODS A total of 1167 solitary HBV-related HCC patients were retrospectively analyzed. GPR levels were compared with 908 non-HCC individuals. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were evaluated, and cox proportional hazard model analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors. Differences in characteristics were adjusted by propensity score matching (PSM). Subgroup and stratified survival analyses for HCC risks were performed, and a linear trend of the hazard ratio (HR) according to GPR levels was constructed. RESULTS GPR levels of patients with solitary HBV-related HCC were higher than those with hepatic hemangiomas, chronic hepatitis B and healthy control (adjusted P < 0.05). Variable bias was diminished after the PSM balance test. The low GPR group had improved OS (P < 0.001) and RFS (P < 0.001) in the PSM analysis and when combined with other variables. Multivariate cox analyses suggested that low GPR levels were associated with a better OS (HR = 0.5, 95%CI: 0.36-0.7, P < 0.001) and RFS (HR = 0.57, 95%CI: 0.44-0.73, P < 0.001). This same trend was confirmed in subgroup analyses. Prognostic nomograms were constructed and the calibration curves showed that GPR had good survival prediction. Moreover, stratified survival analyses found that GPR > 0.6 was associated with a worse OS and higher recurrence rate (P for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSION Preoperative GPR can serve as a noninvasive indicator to predict the prognosis of patients with solitary HBV-related HCC.