Lipoprotein a is an Independent Risk Factor for Overall Survival in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer: a Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Background: This study aims to assess the prognostic significance of serum lipoprotein (a) \[Lp (a)\] levels on overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) in individuals diagnosed with pancreatic cancer through the utilization of propensity score matching (PSM). Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinicopathological data of 364 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2019 to December 2022. The cut-off value for Lp (a) was determined based on one-year survival rates after diagnosis. Patients were then categorized into the high and low Lp (a) groups. We applied PSM analysis to minimize selection bias. The study compared OS and PFS between two groups by Kaplan-Meier method and analyzed differences using the log-rank test. Additionally, univariate and multivariate Cox-regression analyses were performed to identify prognostic factors among patients.