RDW-CV / Albumin Ratio Provides Across Cancer Sites Strong Explained Variance in Risk Modelling Using Routinely Available Biomarkers

Abstract Cancer patients frequently face risks for hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality. An accurate risk stratification tool to predict short-term mortality in hospitalized cancer patients would benefit level of care decision at presentation. Red cell distribution width (RDW) has been reported as a predictor of mortality but application to cancer is uncertain. Elevated RDW has been associated with clinical decompensation and morality in patients harboring cardiovascular diseases, kidney injury, sepsis, cerebrovascular accidents and trauma. Our study aimed to determine whether RDW in cancer patients, independently or in combination with other putative severity markers, obtained within 24h of hospitalization, could predict progression to critical illness, defined as admissions to intensive care unit, discharge to hospice or death within 30 days. Our preliminary findings obtained from a community-teaching hospital, demonstrated that RDW was independently or in combination with other putative severity markers, associated with short-term cancer progression to composite outcome.