Prognostic Role of Pretreatment De Ritis Ratio (Aspartate Transaminase/Alanine Transaminase Ratio) in Urological Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

To examine the potential prognostic significance of pretreatment De Ritis ratio (aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase ratio) in urological cancers, including upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), prostate cancer (PCa), bladder cancer (BCa). Potential literatures were searched with PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science in December 2019. Merged hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the associations. Totally, 15 studies with 8,565 patients were included. Merged results showed that an elevated pretreatment De Ritis ratio was correlated with poorer OS (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.61-2.01), CSS (HR 2.15, 95% CI 1.80-2.56), PFS (HR 1.57, 95% CI 1.34-1.85), BRFS (HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.11-2.53) for urological cancers. Subgroup analyses by cancer type for OS found that De Ritis ratio can be a predictor in UTUC (HR 1.91, 95% CI 1.57-2.33), RCC (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.47-2.07), and BCa (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.43-2.27). Similar results could be found for CSS (UTUC: HR 2.46, 95% CI 1.93-3.13; RCC: HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.46-2.47; BCa: HR 2.71, 95% CI 1.39-5.31) and PFS (UTUC: HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.15-2.20; RCC: HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.26-1.83; BCa: HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.18-2.72). There was no publication bias among these included studies. Pretreatment De Ritis ratio was a significant predictor for OS, CSS, PFS and BRFS in urological cancers, indicating that it could be a promising prognostic factor during clinical practice.