The relationship between nutritional status and prognosis in patients with locally advanced and advanced stage lung cancer

Comparison of treatment outcome between first-line combination immunotherapy (anti-PD-L1 or anti-PD1) with or without chemotherapy and chemotherapy alone in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients in tertiary care hospital

BACKGROUND

Despite promising outcomes of first-line immunotherapy with or without chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), limited accessibility due to reimbursement was remain the problem in low to middle income countries. This study aimed to evaluate real-world effectiveness of immunotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC in Northern Thailand.

METHOD

A retrospective, single-centered cohort, was conducted. Patients with advanced NSCLC who underwent PD-L1 testing (excluding EGFR and ALK mutations) and were treated with immunotherapy or without chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone were included. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and adverse events.

RESULTS

A total of 123 patients, of which 21 patients received immunotherapy-based regimen and 102 patients received chemotherapy alone. The median PFS was 11.9 months in immunotherapy-based group compared to 5.93 months in the chemotherapy group, with a. hazard ratio (HR) of 0.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23 to 0.68; p = 0.001). Similarly, the median OS was 26.68 months in the immunotherapy-based group and 11.21 months in the chemotherapy group, with HR of 0.42 (95% CI 0.22-0.8; p = 0.009). ORRs were significantly higher in the immunotherapy-based group, with 65% of patients showing a response compared to 32% in the chemotherapy group (p = 0.006).

CONCLUSION

The result of this real-world study in patients with advanced stage NSCLC indicate that first-line immunotherapy-based regimen was associated with significantly greater PFS, OS, and ORR with a safety profile consistent with pivotal studies.

Association of malnutrition status with 30-day mortality in patients with sepsis using objective nutritional indices: a multicenter retrospective study in South Korea

BACKGROUND

The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score and the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) have emerged as important nutritional indices because they provide an objective assessment based on data. We aimed to investigate how these nutritional indices relate to outcomes in patients with sepsis.

METHODS

Data were collected retrospectively at five hospitals for patients aged ≥18 years receiving treatment for sepsis between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021. Serum albumin and total cholesterol concentrations, and peripheral lymphocytes were used to calculate the CONUT score and PNI. To identify predictors correlated with 30-day mortality, analyses were conducted using univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

The 30-day mortality rate among 9,763 patients was 15.8% (n=1,546). The median CONUT score was 5 (interquartile range [IQR], 3-7) and the median PNI score was 39.6 (IQR, 33.846.4). Higher 30-day mortality rates were associated with individuals with moderate (CONUT score: 5-8; PNI: 35-38) or severe (CONUT: 9-12; PNI: <35) malnutrition compared with those with no malnutrition (CONUT: 0-1; PNI: >38). With CONUT scores, the hazard ratio (HR) associated with moderate malnutrition was 1.52 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-1.87; P<0.001); for severe, HR=2.42 (95% CI, 1.95-3.02; P<0.001). With PNI scores, the HR for moderate malnutrition was 1.29 (95% CI, 1.09-1.53; P=0.003); for severe, HR=1.88 (95% CI, 1.67-2.12; P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The nutritional indices CONUT score and PNI showed significant associations with mortality of sepsis patients within 30 days.

Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is a prognostic marker in III-IV NSCLC patients receiving first-line chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

To investigate the prognostic impact of the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving first-line chemotherapy.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 278 consecutive patients undergoing chemotherapy for stage III-IV NSCLC between May 2012 and July 2020. CONUT score was calculated by incorporating serum albumin, total cholesterol, and total lymphocyte count. The patients were divided into two groups: CONUT ≥ 3 and CONUT < 3, according to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The associations of CONUT with clinicopathological factors and survival were evaluated.

RESULTS

A high CONUT score was significantly associated with older age(P = 0.003), worse ECOG-PS(P = 0.018), advanced clinical stage(P = 0.006), higher systematic inflammation index (SII) (P < 0.001)and lower prognostic nutritional index (PNI) (P < 0.001).The high CONUT group had a significantly shorter progression-free survival(PFS) and overall survival(OS) than the low CONUT group. In the univariate analysis, higher SII, higher CONUT, advanced clinical stage and lower PNI were associated with worse PFS (P_all < 0.05). Worse ECOG-PS, higher SII, higher CONUT, advanced clinical stage and lower PNI were associated with worse OS (P_all < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, CONUT(HR, 2.487; 95%CI 1.818 ~ 3.403; P < 0.001) was independently associated with PFS, while PNI(HR, 0.676; 95%CI 0.494 ~ 0.927; P = 0.015) and CONUT(HR, 2.186; 95%CI 1.591 ~ 3.002; P < 0.001)were independently associated with OS. In ROC analysis, CONUT had a higher area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the prediction of 24-month PFS and OS than the SII or PNI. When the time-dependent AUC curve was used to predict PFS and OS, CONUT tended to maintain its predictive accuracy for long-term prognosis at a significantly higher level for an extended period after chemotherapy when compared with the other markers tested. The CONUT score showed better accuracy of predicting OS (C-index: 0.711) and PFS(C-index: 0.753).

CONCLUSION

CONUT score is an independent prognostic indicator of poor outcomes for patients with stage III-IV NSCLC and is superior to the SII and PNI in terms of prognostic ability.

Prognostic significance of preoperative C-reactive protein to albumin ratio in non-small cell lung cancer patients: A meta-analysis

Objective

We aimed to assess whether C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) is associated with the clinicopathology and prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after surgery.

Methods

Several literature databases were searched for eligible studies in English and Chinese published before September 1, 2022, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the association of CAR in lung cancer with clinicopathological characteristics including age, sex, smoking status, lymph node metastasis, and American Association of Cancer (AJCC) stage. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CI were calculated to assess the association of CAR with prognosis in lung cancer. Publication bias was assessed using Egger's test.

Results

Overall, 9 studies involving 3,359 NSCLC patients were included in this meta-analysis. The CAR was observed to be higher in males, smokers, and patients with lymph node metastasis and correlated with advanced AJCC stage but not with age. Moreover, a high CAR correlated with poor survival. No publication bias was observed in this meta-analysis.

Conclusions

CAR was observed to be a significant biomarker for prognosis and associated with clinicopathological characteristics in patients with NSCLC after surgery.

The prognostic value of the Controlling Nutritional Status score on patients undergoing nephrectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma or renal cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

In recent years, the controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score has increasingly became an effective indicator associated with tumor prognosis. This study was conducted to synthesise data on the prognostic value of CONUT score on patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) or renal cell carcinoma (RCC) undergoing nephrectomy. We designed and performed a systematic analysis of studies that verified the correlation between preoperative CONUT score and prognosis for UTUC and RCC using PubMed, Web of Science and Embase. The conclusion was clarified by pooled hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Subgroup analysis were further conducted in accordance with different primary tumor. Six studies involving 3529 patients were included in this evidence synthesis, which revealed that the CONUT score had a potential role to predict the survival of UTUC and RCC patients accepting surgery. Pooled analysis showed that the overall survival (OS, HR 2·32, p < 0·0001), cancer-specific survival (CSS, HR 2·68, p < 0·0001) and disease-free survival (DFS, HR 1·62, p < 0·00001) were inferior in the high CONUT score group when compared with low score group. Subgroup analysis revealed that this result was in line with UTUC (OS: HR 1·86, p = 0·02; CSS: HR 2·24, p = 0·01; DFS: HR 1·54, p < 0·00001) and RCC (OS: HR 3·05, p < 0·00001; CSS: HR 3·47, p < 0·00001; DFS: HR 2·21, p = 0·0005) patients respectively. Consequently, the CONUT score is a valuable preoperative index to predict the survival of patients with UTUC or RCC undergoing nephrectomy.

Prognostic predictors of non-small cell lung cancer treated with curative resection: the role of preoperative CT texture features, clinical features, and laboratory parameters

AIM

To explore the value of preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) tumour texture characteristics, and clinical and laboratory parameters on the prognosis of curative resection for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included 64 patients (34 men and 30 women) with NSCLC who underwent curative resection and were then followed up for 5 years or until death. Preoperative contrast-enhanced CT images, clinical features, and laboratory parameters were collected for these patients. CT texture features of the primary tumour before surgery were extracted from the contrast-enhanced CT images using ImageJ software. Based on the cut-off values determined by X-tile software, the preoperative CT texture features, clinical features, and laboratory parameters were divided into two groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and log-rank tests were used to compare the 5-year overall survival (OS) of patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to determine the independent factors influencing the prognosis.

RESULTS

The mean survival was 51.5 months. Tumour volume, entropy, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR) were shown to be significantly associated with 5-year OS (p<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that entropy was the independent factor of prognosis (hazard ratio 4.375, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.646-11.620, p=0.003).

CONCLUSION

Entropy is an important and potentially non-invasive imaging biomarker for predicting the prognosis of NSCLC undergoing curative resection.

Prognostic Value of the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score in Patients at Dialysis Initiation

Protein-energy wasting (PEW) is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and affects their prognosis. The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is a nutritional screening tool calculated using only blood test data. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of CONUT score in patients just initiating dialysis. A total of 311 CKD patients who stably initiated dialysis were enrolled. Only 27 (8.7%) patients were classified as having normal nutritional status. The CONUT score was also independently correlated with elevated C-reactive protein levels (β = 0.485, p < 0.0001). During the median follow-up of 37 months, 100 patients (32.2%) died. The CONUT score was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.13, 95% confidence interval 1.04−1.22, p < 0.0024). As model discrimination, the addition of the CONUT score to a prediction model based on established risk factors significantly improved net reclassification improvement (0.285, p = 0.028) and integrated discrimination improvement (0.025, p = 0.023). The CONUT score might be a simplified surrogate marker of the PEW with clinical utility and could predict all-cause mortality, in addition to improving the predictability in CKD patients just initiating dialysis. The CONUT score also could predict infectious-disease mortality.

Nutritional Risk Index Predicts Survival in Patients With Breast Cancer Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Nutritional risk index (NRI) is an index based on ideal body weight that aims to present body weight and serum albumin levels. It has been utilized to discriminate patients at risk of postoperative complications and predict the postoperative outcome of major surgeries. However, this index remains limited for breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). The research explores the clinical and prognostic significance of NRI in breast cancer patients. This study included 785 breast cancer patients (477 cases received NACT and 308 cases did not) were enrolled in this retrospective study. The optimal NRI cutoff value was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, then reclassified as low NRI group (<112) and high NRI group (≥112). The results demonstrated that NRI independently predicted survival on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) by univariate and multivariate Cox regression survival analyses [P = 0.019, hazard ratio (HR): 1.521, 95% CI: 1.071–2.161 and P = 0.004, HR: 1.415, 95% CI: 1.119–1.789; and P = 0.026, HR:1.500, 95% CI: 1.051–2.143 and P < 0.001, HR: 1.547, 95% CI: 1.221–1.959]. According to the optimal cutoff value of NRI, the high NRI value patients had longer mean DFS and OS time in contrast to those with low NRI value patients (63.47 vs. 40.50 months; 71.50 vs. 56.39 months). Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the high NRI score patients had significantly longer mean DFS and OS time than those with low NRI score patients in early-stage breast cancer (χ² = 9.0510, P = 0.0026 and χ² = 9.2140, P = 0.0024) and advanced breast cancer (χ² = 6.2500, P = 0.0124 and χ² = 5.8880, P = 0.0152). The mean DFS and OS values in patients with high NRI scores were significantly longer in contrast to those with low NRI scores in different molecular subtypes. The common toxicities after NACT were hematologic and gastrointestinal reactions, and the NRI had no statistically significant effects on toxicities, except in nausea (χ² = 9.2413, P = 0.0024), mouth ulcers (χ² = 4.8133, P = 0.0282), anemia (χ² = 8.5441, P = 0.0140), and leukopenia (χ² = 11.0951, P = 0.0039). NRI serves as a minimally invasive, easily accessible and convenient prognostic tool for evaluating breast cancer prognoses and treatment efficacy, and may help doctors in terms of selecting measures of greater efficiency or appropriateness to better treat breast cancer.

Prognostic impact of the pre-treatment controlling nutritional status score in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The influence of pre-treatment controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score on the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is inconclusive. We performed this meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic significance of CONUT score in NSCLC patients.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted to assess the correlation between the CONUT score and the overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), as well as the cancer-specific survival.

RESULTS

A total of 11 studies with 3029 patients were included in the analysis. Pooled results indicated that a high CONUT score was positively correlated with poor OS (HR: 1.63, 95%CI: 1.40-1.88, P < .001) and shortened DFS/RFS (HR: 1.65, 95%CI: 1.35-2.01, P < .001), but no significant relationship with the cancer-specific survival (HR: 1.28, 95%CI: 0.60-2.73, P = .517) was identified. The negative effect of high CONUT score on the OS and DFS/RFS was detected in every subgroup with varying treatment methods, cancer stage, CONUT cut-off values, sample size, and analysis methods of HR. Additionally, preoperative high CONUT score was an independent predictor of postoperative complications (odds ratio: 1.58, 95%CI: 1.21-2.06, P = .001) in NSCLC. Last but not least, high CONUT score was not significantly correlated with the patients' sex, smoking status, cancer stage, lymphatic invasion, vascular invasion, pleural invasion, and pathological cancer type.

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrate that high CONUT score is positively related to poor prognoses. The CONUT score may therefore be considered as an effective prognostic marker in NSCLC patients.

Relationship Between Nutritional Status and Quality of Life in Patients with Lung Cancer

Introduction

Malnutrition is often co-occur in patients with advanced cancer and are associated with poorer response to treatment therapy and decrease significantly the quality of life (QoL). There is little evidence regarding the relationship between nutritional status and QoL in this patient group.

Purpose of the Study

To assess the relationship between nutritional status and QoL in patients with lung cancer.

Methods

Our cross-sectional, descriptive study included 310 patients. Only standardized instruments were used to perform the study: Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) to assess nutritional status and The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core-30 (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and Lung Cancer-13 (LC-13) to assess the QoL.

Results

The mean age in the study group was 63.77±9.43. 18.71% of patients were malnourished 44.19% at risk of malnutrition and 37.1% of patients had normal nutritional status. Clinical characteristics showed that 75% of respondents had been diagnosed with non-small-cell lung carcinoma, with an average duration of illness of 1–2 years. Nearly all patients received symptomatic treatment, and one in two had undergone surgery. At subsequent stages, QoL was analyzed in three groups depending on nutritional status risk. Malnourished patients had a lower quality of life and greater severity of cancer symptoms than those with a normal nutritional status (p<0.001). In regression analysis, nutritional status has a significant impact on all QLQ-C30 functional scales. Regression parameters are positive, indicating that better nutritional status is associated with better functioning in specific QLQ domains.

Conclusion

A considerable proportion of lung cancer patients are either malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition correlates negatively with QoL and increases symptom severity. Malnutrition is an independent determinant of lower QoL.

Implications for Practice

Nutritional assessment should be accompanied by QoL evaluation, so that nutritional interventions can be optimized based on a patient’s individual requirements.