Effect of nutritional status and inflammatory markers on acute adverse reactions during concurrent chemoradiotherapy for esophageal carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To examine the effects of different pre-treatment nutritional status and inflammatory markers on acute adverse reactions in esophageal cancer patients during concurrent intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and chemotherapy. Methods The acute adverse reactions of 338 eligible esophageal cancer patients who received concurrent IMRT and chemotherapy in our hospital from 2006 to 2014 were reviewed. The effects of different pre-treatment nutritional status, such as body mass index level (BMI), albumin level (ALB), total lymphocyte count (TLC), the presence or absence of anemia, and inflammatory indicators including neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), on acute adverse reactions in the patients were examined. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test with continuity correction and logistic regression analysis. Results The incidence rate of malnutrition in the patients based on their nutritional status was 5.62%-54.14%. The incidence rate of grade≥2 acute radiation esophagitis (RE) was significantly higher in the low ALB group than in the normal ALB group (P=0.000). The incidence rate of adverse reactions in the hematologic system increased as TLC decreased (P=0.006), but the incidence rate of acute radiation pneumonitis (RP) was reduced as TLC decreased (P=0.001). In addition, the incidence rate of grade ≥2 acute RE was significantly higher in the anemia group than in the non-anemia group. Inflammatory marker analysis demonstrated that the incidence rate of acute RE was significantly higher in the high NLR group and high PLR group than in the low NLR group and low PLR group (P=0.000 and P=0.024, respectively). Logistic regression analysis of nutritional status and inflammatory markers showed that TLC was an independent risk factor for acute adverse reactions in the hematologic system (P=0.001), and ALB and PLR were independent risk factors for acute RE (P=0.017 and P=0.011, respectively). Conclusions Nutritional status and inflammatory markers are associated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy-induced acute adverse reactions in esophageal carcinoma patients, and hence may be valuable indicators of acute adverse reactions during treatment. In addition, nutritional treatment and support care should be actively provided to the patients to prevent the development of acute adverse reactions during treatment. Key words: Esophageal neoplasms/radiotherapy; Nutritional status; Inflammation