Prognostic significance of a combined and controlled nutritional status score and EBV-DNA in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma:a long-term follow-up study

Objective:Several studies have reported that the controlling nutritional status(CONUT)score is a prognostic predictor for survival among patients with different types of cancer.We assessed the prognostic value of changes in the CONUT score during treatment and theΔCONUT-EBV DNA score in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC).Methods:We retrospectively analyzed 433 patients with advanced NPC having no evidence of metastasis from January 2007 to June 2011;the patients underwent radical concurrent chemoradiotherapy(CCRT)at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and were grouped based on theirΔCONUT andΔCONUT-EBV DNA scores.Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare the patient outcomes according to the cut-offΔCONUT score and theΔCONUT-EBV DNA scoring system.Results:Among all patients,overall survival(OS)was independently predicted by a highΔCONUT score(P=0.031)and high EBV DNA(P<0.001).TheΔCONUT-EBV DNA score[OS area under the curve(AUC)=0.621;progression free survival(PFS)-AUC=0.612;distant metastasis-free survival(DMFS)-AUC=0.622]was more predictive of OS,PFS,and DMFS in patients with advanced NPC than theΔCONUT score(OS-AUC=0.547;PFS-AUC=0.533;DMFS-AUC=0.522)and pretreatment plasma EBV DNA levels alone(OS-AUC=0.600;PFS-AUC=0.591,DMFS-AUC=0.610).TheΔCONUT-EBV DNA score was significantly correlated with OS,PFS,and DMFS in patients with advanced NPC treated with CCRT.Conclusions:TheΔCONUT-EBV DNA score may be useful in clinical practice as a convenient biomarker for predicting the outcomes in patients with advanced NPC treated with CCRT.

Value of the controlling nutritional status score and psoas muscle thickness per height in predicting prognosis in liver transplantation

BACKGROUND Patients with end-stage liver disease usually have varying degrees of malnutrition,and severe malnutrition may affect the prognosis of patients after liver transplantation(LT).However,there is no recommended standard for the nutrition assessment of patients waiting for LT,and it is unknown whether malnutrition has an impact on the occurrence of postoperative complications.AIM The study aim was to investigate the value of the controlling nutritional status(CONUT)score and psoas muscle thickness per height(PMTH)in predicting prognosis in LT.METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 313 patients who underwent classic orthotopic LT from January 2016 to December 2018 in Tianjin First Central Hospital affiliated with Tianjin Medical University.The CONUT score is derived from the preoperative serum albumin and total cholesterol levels,and total lymphocyte count.Patients were divided into low(≤4),medium(5–8),and high(9–12)CONUT score groups perioperative characteristics,Clavien-Dindo grade III/IV/V postoperative complications,graft loss and infection,and cumulative postoperative survival in the three groups were compared 3 mo after LT.PMTH was calculated as the ratio of the transverse thickness of the psoas muscle in the umbilical plane to the height of the patient.The cutoff values of receiver operating characteristic curves were determined separately for men and women.The values were 14.1 cm/m2 for women and 17.9 cm/m2 for men.The patients were then divided into low and high PMTH groups by the cutoff values.The comparison of data between the two groups was the same as above.RESULTS Patients with medium and high CONUT scores had lower preoperative serum hemoglobin,more intraoperative red blood cell(RBC)transfusions,longer postoperative intensive care unit stay and hospital stays,higher 7 and 14 preoperative-day serum bilirubin levels,and a higher incidence of postoperative grade III/IV complications and infections than patients with low CONUT scores.Differences in the 3-mo cumulative survival among the three groups were not significant.Patients with a low PMTH had higher preoperative serum urea nitrogen,more intraoperative packed RBC and frozen plasma transfusions,longer times to postoperative ventilator extubation,higher incidence of total postoperative complications,and a lower 3-mo cumulative survival than those with a high PMTH.CONCLUSION A CONUT score≥5 and a low PMTH were both associated with poor prognosis in LT.The CONUT score had no predictive value for short-term patient survival after LT,but the PMTH was predictive of short-term patient survival after LT.

Prognostic value of serum carcinoembryonic antigen combined with nutritional status control score in patients with colorectal cancer

Objective To investigate the prognostic value of serum carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA)and controlling nutritional status(CONUT)score in patients with colorectal cancer.Methods We retrospectively studied 261 patients with colorectal cancer in our hospital.The patients were divided into two groups by CONUT=3 and CEA=5 ng/mL,and the effects of CONUT score and CEA level on the prognosis and clinicopathological parameters were statistically analyzed.Results(1)Different CONUT scores were significantly correlated with age,tumor diameter,differentiation type,and T stage(P<0.05).The older the patient was,the larger the tumor diameter,undifferentiated tumor,and T stage were,the higher the CONUT score was.(2)Seventy-five patients died during the follow-up period,and 45 patients died of progression or recurrence of colorectal cancer.The 5-year overall survival(OS)rate of the low CONUT score group was significantly higher than that of the high CONUT score group,and the 5-year OS rate of the low CEA group was significantly higher than that of the high CEA group;the difference was statistically significant(P<0.01).(3)According to the serum CEA level and CONUT score,the 5-year survival rates of CEAlow/CONUTlow,CEAlow/CONUThigh,CEAhigh/CONUTlow,and CEAhigh/CONUThigh were 84.7%,69%,55.3%,and 36.1%respectively,with statistical significance(P<0.01).(4)The Cox multivariate analysis showed that age,CONUT score,CEA combined with CONUT score,lymph node metastasis,and distant metastasis were independent risk factors for the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients.Conclusion:The combination of CEA detection and CONUT score can more accurately judge the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients.

Prognostic value of Controlling Nutritional Status score for postoperative complications and biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

Background:Controlling Nutritional Status(CONUT)score was used for screening the preoperative nutritional status.The correlation between the CONUT score and the prognosis of patients with prostate cancer(PCa)has yet to be elucidated.Herein,we analyzed the prognostic value of CONUT scores in patients with PCa who underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.Materials and methods:Data of 244 patients were retrospectively evaluated.Perioperative variables and follow-up data were analyzed.The patients were categorized into 2 groups according to their preoperative CONUT scores.Postoperative complication and incontinence rates were also compared.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the median biochemical recurrence-free survival(BCRFS)between the 2 groups.Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify the potential prognostic factors for BCRFS.Results:Patients were categorized into the low-CONUT group(CONUT score<3,n=207)and high-CONUT group(CONUT score≥3,n=37).The high-CONUT group had a higher overall complication rate(40.5%vs.19.3%,p=0.004),a higher major complication rate(10.8%vs.3.9%,p=0.013),and longer postoperative length of stay(8 days vs.7 days,p=0.017).More fever,urinary infection,abdominal infection,scrotal edema,rash,and hemorrhagic events(all p values<0.05)were observed in the high-CONUT group.A higher rate of urinary incontinence was observed in the high-CONUT group at 1(34.4%vs.13.2%,p=0.030)and 3 months(24.1%vs.8.2%,p=0.023)postoperatively.The high-CONUT group had shorter medium BCRFS(23.8 months vs.54.6 months,p=0.029),and a CONUT score≥3 was an independent risk factor for a shorter BCRFS(hazards ratio,1.842;p=0.026).Conclusions:The CONUT score is a useful predictive tool for higher postoperative complication rates and shorter BCRFS in patients with PCa who undergo laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.