Prognostic Significance of CONUT Score in Elderly NSCLC

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Geriatric Medicine
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality.
• Elderly patients (over 80) present unique challenges in NSCLC management and prognosis.
• Nutritional status is increasingly recognized as a critical factor in cancer patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score as a prognostic predictor in elderly NSCLC patients.
• To assess the utility of the CONUT score in patients who have undergone surgical resection.
• To identify reliable markers for predicting overall survival (OS) in this specific patient cohort.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 114 elderly NSCLC patients (age > 80) who underwent curative resection.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to assess the prognostic value of immune-inflammatory markers, including the CONUT score.
• Cox-proportional hazards regression to identify independent prognostic factors for overall survival.

Main Results:

• The CONUT score demonstrated significant prognostic capability (AUC = 0.716), outperforming other markers.
• Patients with a high CONUT score (≥2) had significantly poorer 5-year overall survival rates (46.3%) compared to those with a low CONUT score (0 or 1) (86.0%).
• Multivariate analysis identified the CONUT score (HR: 4.23, p=0.0003) as an independent predictor of OS, alongside histology and lymphatic invasion.

Conclusions:

• The CONUT score serves as a valuable preoperative prognostic marker for elderly NSCLC patients undergoing surgery.
• CONUT score assessment can inform the design of targeted nutritional interventions to potentially improve patient outcomes.
• This study highlights the importance of nutritional assessment in optimizing care for elderly NSCLC surgical patients.