Prognostic value of the monocyte-to-albumin ratio in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A retrospective cohort study

Introduction: Although monocyte and albumin levels have been associated with survival in various malignant tumours, their specific prognostic significance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains under-explored. This study seeks to examine the relationship between the monocyte-to-albumin ratio (MAR) and overall survival (OS) in NPC patients to create a precise prediction model. Method: The authors retrospectively analysed data from 860 NPC patients who underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The optimal cut-off for MAR was determined using the maximum selection log-rank method. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were applied to identify factors significantly related to OS. A predictive nomogram was then developed and rigorously validated for its accuracy. Results: The optimal MAR threshold was determined to be 11.63, effectively categorising the 860 NPC patients into 2 prognostic subgroups (hazard ratio 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.41-0.77, P