Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score as a Predictor of Prognosis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background: Several studies have reported the association between malnutrition risk and survival outcomes in surgically treated lung cancer patients; in contrast, limited data are available on patients undergoing medical therapies. The aim of this study was to evaluate malnutrition risk (using the CONUT score) and its relationships with treatment response and survival in patients with an advanced stage of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 109 patients with a diagnosis of locally advanced and advanced NSCLC. Patients were assessed at baseline (before any therapy), after four cycles of therapy, and during a follow-up period of 4 years. Results: Thirty-two (29.4%) NSCLC patients had a CONUT score ≥ 2. Patients with a higher CONUT score were more likely to have brain metastases while patients with a CONUT score < 2 had a significantly better response to therapy in terms of partial response/stable disease. In addition, The Kaplan-Meier curves revealed a significantly worse prognosis for the high CONUT than the low CONUT group regarding both OS and PFS. Cox regression analysis indicated that the CONUT score (≥2) was as a significant determinant of OS and PFS in the patients studied even after considering other possible predictors. Conclusion: This study suggests that malnutrition risk assessment with CONUT score may be valuable in the prognosis assessment of advanced-stage NSCLC patients.