| dc.description.abstract | Background: Inflammation and nutritional status contribute significantly to the
pathophysiology and clinical severity of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in
children. The fibrinogen to albumin ratio/FAR, a composite inflammation–nutrition
biomarker, has emerged as a potential prognostic indicator; however, evidence in pediatric
ALL is limited.
Objective: To assess the role of FAR in risk stratification of pediatric ALL patients and to
compare demographic and laboratory characteristics by risk categories.
Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 29 newly diagnosed
pediatric ALL patients at Adam Malik Hospital. Fibrinogen and albumin levels were
measured using the Clauss and colorimetric methods, respectively. Statistical analyses
included Mann–Whitney, independent t-test, Fisher exact test, and univariate general linear
model. Significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results: Of the 29 patients, 15 were categorized as Standard Risk (SR) and 14 as High
Risk (HR). No significant differences were observed in age, sex distribution,
extramedullary involvement, FAB classification, hemoglobin, leukocyte count, platelet
count, or peripheral/bone marrow blasts (all p > 0.05). Median fibrinogen was higher in the
HR group (280.9 mg/dL) compared with SR (166.2 mg/dL) but not statistically significant
(p = 0.156). Albumin levels were significantly lower in HR (3.38 ± 0.57 g/dL) than SR
(3.96 ± 0.35 g/dL) (p = 0.003). FAR was significantly elevated in HR (median 0.067)
compared with SR (median 0.039) (p = 0.047). FAR showed a significant association with
risk stratification (p = 0.042), with high FAR present in 72.7% of HR patients. High FAR
increased the probability of high-risk classification by 39%.
Conclusion: FAR is significantly associated with risk stratification in pediatric ALL and
may serve as a simple, accessible biomarker to complement existing risk assessment tools.
Albumin, but not fibrinogen alone, also differed significantly between risk groups. Larger
multicenter studies are warranted to validate its prognostic utility. | en_US |
