Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep-Oct;38(5):2494-2500.
doi: 10.21873/invivo.13720.

The Clinical Impact of Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte, Platelet (HALP) in Gastric Cancer Patients Who Receive Curative Treatment

Toru Aoyama #  1 , Yukio Maezawa #  2 , Itaru Hashimoto  3 , Ryuki Esashi  2 , Sosuke Yamamoto  2 , Mamoru Uchiyama  2 , Koji Numata  2 , Keisuke Kazama  2 , Ayako Tamagawa  2 , Aya Saito  2 , Norio Yukawa  2
Affiliations

The Clinical Impact of Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte, Platelet (HALP) in Gastric Cancer Patients Who Receive Curative Treatment

Toru Aoyama et al. In Vivo. 2024 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Background/aim: We hypothesized that the hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score may be a promising marker for the treatment and management of gastric cancer (GC). To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the clinical impact of the HALP score in patients with GC who received curative treatment.

Patients and methods: Consecutive patients who underwent curative resection for GC at the Yokohama City University between 2005 and 2020 were selected based on their medical records. The HALP score was calculated as follows: HALP=Hemoglobin (g/l) × albumin (g/l) × lymphocytes (109/l)/platelets (109/l).

Results: The 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 88.6% and 85.8%, respectively, in patients with HALP scores of >40, and 70.3% and 57.2% in patients with HALP scores of ≤40. There were significant differences between the groups analyzed (p<0.001). In univariate analysis, age, T status, lymph node metastasis status, HALP score, lymphovascular invasion status, pathological type, and postoperative complication status were identified as significant prognostic factors for OS. In multivariate analysis, the HALP score remained a significant prognostic factor for OS [hazard ratio (HR)=2.679; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.455-4.934, p=0.002]. Similar results were observed in the analysis of recurrence-free survival. In addition, the HALP score status affects the postoperative clinical course, including the occurrence of postoperative anastomotic leakage and the introduction of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.

Conclusion: The HALP score affects both short- and long-term oncological outcomes. Thus, the HALP score may be a promising prognostic factor for the treatment and management of GC.

Keywords: Hemoglobin; albumin; gastric cancer; lymphocyte; platelet.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The Authors declare no conflicts of interest in association with the present study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Overall survival of gastric cancer patients in HALP >40 and HALP ≤40 groups. HALP: Hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, platelet score.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Recurrence-free survival of gastric cancer patients in the HALP >40 and HALP ≤40 groups. HALP: Hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, platelet score.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018;68(6):394–424. doi: 10.3322/caac.21492. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ferlay J, Colombet M, Soerjomataram I, Parkin DM, Piñeros M, Znaor A, Bray F. Cancer statistics for the year 2020: An overview. Int J Cancer. 2021;149(4):778–789. doi: 10.1002/ijc.33588. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lordick F, Carneiro F, Cascinu S, Fleitas T, Haustermans K, Piessen G, Vogel A, Smyth EC, ESMO Guidelines Committee Gastric cancer: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol. 2022;33(10):1005–1020. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2022.07.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ajani JA, D’Amico TA, Bentrem DJ, Chao J, Cooke D, Corvera C, Das P, Enzinger PC, Enzler T, Fanta P, Farjah F, Gerdes H, Gibson MK, Hochwald S, Hofstetter WL, Ilson DH, Keswani RN, Kim S, Kleinberg LR, Klempner SJ, Lacy J, Ly QP, Matkowskyj KA, McNamara M, Mulcahy MF, Outlaw D, Park H, Perry KA, Pimiento J, Poultsides GA, Reznik S, Roses RE, Strong VE, Su S, Wang HL, Wiesner G, Willett CG, Yakoub D, Yoon H, McMillian N, Pluchino LA. Gastric Cancer, Version 2.2022, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2022;20(2):167–192. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2022.0008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aoyama T, Yoshikawa T. Adjuvant therapy for locally advanced gastric cancer. Surg Today. 2017;47(11):1295–1302. doi: 10.1007/s00595-017-1493-y. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources