Significance of the CONUT Score in the Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Abstract

Nutritional status is related to the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The CONUT (The Controlling Nutritional Status) score is a recent nutritional marker. This study aimed to examine the association of preoperative CONUT score with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), while the secondary aim was to assess the importance of preoperative nutritional status for the development of postoperative complications. Methods: The total number of CRC patients included in the study was 111. All patients underwent laboratory analyses within a week before surgery. Medical data were collected from archived data at the Zvezdara University Medical Centre. The CONUT score was analyzed in relation to the OS and DFS. Results: Using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Log-rank test, a statistically significant difference in OS and DFS between groups of patients with different CONUT scores was observed. Patients with higher CONUT scores have a longer duration of hospitalization after surgery, a longer total length of stay, and a more severe degree of postoperative complications. The CONUT score is related to short-term treatment outcomes, such as the length of intrahospital treatment and frequency and severity of postoperative complications, but also to long-term prognostic parameters. Early nutritional screening may be of prognostic significance.