ALB and cancer: conducted a prospective cohort study on 338 patients with SCC of the head and neck who received definitive treatment and reported that pretreatment hypoalbuminemia constituted an independent risk factor for poor DFS, CSS, and OS, which may be explained by the fact that inflammation mediated by cancer may reduce serum albumin levels by expanding microvasculature permeability and the transcapillary passage of serum albumin and controlling albumin synthesis in the liver through cytokine mediation (36).