THE VALUE OF PREOPERATIVE PROGNOSTIC NUTRITIONAL INDEX IN GASTRIC CANCER AFTER CURATIVE RESECTION

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Outcomes
• Nutritional Assessment

Background:

• Predicting oncological therapy outcomes is vital for effective treatment strategies.
• Malnutrition and immune status significantly impact surgical outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the predictive value of the preoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI) for outcomes in gastric cancer patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort analysis of 529 gastric adenocarcinoma patients (2009-2020) undergoing curative surgery.
• Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) calculated as (10 x albumin [g/dL]) + (0.005 x lymphocytes [nº/mm3]).
• Patients categorized into low (PNI<52) and high (PNI≥52) PNI groups based on ROC curve analysis.

Main Results:

• Low PNI (n=315) was associated with older age, male sex, higher ASA score, lower hemoglobin and BMI, and advanced cancer stage.
• Short-term mortality (30- and 90-day) was significantly higher in the low-PNI group.
• Disease-free survival and overall survival were significantly worse for patients with low PNI.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative PNI is a valuable predictor of both short- and long-term outcomes in gastric cancer patients post-curative gastrectomy.
• Low PNI independently predicts worse disease-free and overall survival, underscoring its clinical significance.