[Nutritional Assessment and Prognosis of Patients with Terminal Gastrointestinal Cancer]

In terminal cancer patients, the nutritional status deteriorates due to cachexia. In this study, we performed a nutritional assessment of terminal gastrointestinal cancer patients and examined the relationship with prognosis.

Fifty-eight patients with terminal gastrointestinal cancer who were hospitalized and treated from January 2019 to June 2022 were included. Patients with terminal cancer were defined as those who were refractory to active treatment, and hospitalization was defined for treatment of distress due to cancer progression. Body mass index(BMI)and prognostic nutritional index(PNI)were calculated as nutritional indices. Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio(NLR)was calculated as an immune index, and platelet/lymphocyte ratio(PLR)and modified Glasgow prognostic score(mGPS)as prognostic indices.

The median values for all cancers were BMI 18.9(16.6-22.9)kg/m2, PNI 33.9(29.2-39.6), NLR 7.9(5.0-16.4), PLR 381.6(181.6-1,025.9) and mGPS 0/1/2 in 10/4/42 cases. Patients were divided into 2 groups by median values of each index(0, 1 and 2 for mGPS), and survival after hospitalization was examined: BMI≥18.9/<18.9: 27(15-35)/27 (16-50)days, p=0.3427, PNI≥33.9/<33.9: 40(25-54)/19.5(9-27)days, p=0.0036, NLR≥7.9/<7.9: 22(12-29)/50 (21-67)days, p=0.0035, PLR≥381/<381: 27(18-36)/24(15-52)days, p=0.2250, mGPS≥2/<2: 25(15-30)/57.5 (20-80)days, p=0.0023.

The present study suggests that PNI may be related to prognosis in nutritional assessment in patients with terminal gastrointestinal cancer.