Is CONUT score a prognostic index in patients with diffuse large cell lymphoma?

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Hematology
• Clinical Nutrition

Background:

• Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Nutritional status is increasingly recognized as a factor influencing cancer prognosis.
• The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is a validated tool to assess nutritional status.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prognostic value of the CONUT score in patients diagnosed with DLBCL.
• To determine if CONUT score can predict overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in DLBCL.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 266 DLBCL patients.
• CONUT score calculated using serum albumin, total cholesterol, and lymphocyte levels.
• Multivariate analysis to identify independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS.

Main Results:

• A high CONUT score (≥ 2) was associated with significantly lower 5-year OS (52.1%) and PFS (49.7%) compared to a low CONUT score (< 2) (79.8% OS, 75.6% PFS).
• CONUT score was a statistically significant independent predictor for both OS (HR=1.15, p=0.003) and PFS (HR=1.19, p=0.001) in multivariate analysis.
• Other significant prognostic factors included age, ECOG performance status, and disease stage.

Conclusions:

• Elevated CONUT scores are associated with reduced overall survival and progression-free survival in DLBCL patients.
• The CONUT score serves as an independent and robust prognostic indicator for DLBCL.
• Incorporating CONUT score assessment may aid in risk stratification and treatment planning for DLBCL.