Geriatric nutritional risk index as a prognostic factor in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma

The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) is a simple and well-established nutritional assessment tool that is a significant prognostic factor for various cancers. However, the role of the GNRI in predicting clinical outcomes of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients has not been investigated. To address this issue, we retrospectively analyzed a total of 476 patients with newly diagnosed de novo DLBCL. We defined the best cutoff value of the GNRI as 96.8 using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Patients with a GNRI < 96.8 had significantly lower overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) than those with a GNRI ≥ 96.8 (5-year OS, 61.2 vs. 84.4%, P < 0.001; 5-year PFS, 53.7 vs. 75.8%, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that performance status, Ann Arbor stage, serum lactate dehydrogenase, and GNRI were independent prognostic factors for OS. Among patients with high-intermediate and high-risk by National Comprehensive Cancer Network-International Prognostic Index (NCCN-IPI), the 5-year OS was significantly lower in patients with a GNRI < 96.8 than in those with a GNRI ≥ 96.8 (high-intermediate risk, 59.5 vs. 75.2%, P = 0.006; high risk, 37.4 vs. 64.9%, P = 0.033). In the present study, we demonstrated that the GNRI was an independent prognostic factor in DLBCL patients. The GNRI could identify a population of poor-risk patients among those with high-intermediate and high-risk by NCCN-IPI.