High percentage of α1-globulin in serum protein is associated with unfavorable prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

The association of the percentage composition of serum protein in patients undergoing lung resections for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with overall survival and recurrence-free survival has never been investigated. Patients were selected consecutively from the database of the Bio-Bank of Shandong Provincial Hospital. We retrospectively examined the impact of preoperative percentage composition of serum protein detected by serum protein electrophoresis on survival. Furthermore, we investigated the relationships between the potential prognostic biomarkers and clinicopathological factors. A total of 390 patients were evaluated. The higher percentage of α1-globulin in serum protein was significantly associated with histology type ( p < 0.001), worse tumor status ( p < 0.001) and higher pathological stage ( p = 0.004). The α1-globulin percentage composition was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (hazard ratio 1.52, 95 % CI 1.04–2.23, p = 0.03). High percentage of α1-globulin in serum protein was also related to short recurrence survival (hazard ratio 1.56, 95 % CI 1.14–2.13, p = 0.005). Our results showed that the percentage of α1-globulin in serum protein may be an independent prognostic factor in NSCLC.