The influence of the prognostic nutritional index on postoperative complications and prognosis in patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Objective To investigate the correlation between the prognostic nutritional index(PNI) and the clinicopathologic features of patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC), and to compare postoperative complications and survival between patients with High-PNI(H-PNI) and Low-PNI(L-PNI) after operation. Methods This study retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the medical records of 216 patients underwent surgery between July 2010 and December 2011 who were pathologically dignosed with NSCLC. Among these, 127 patients with H-PNI, and 89 patients with L-PNI. The clinicopathologic features, median survival time and 5-year survival rates between two groups were analyzed. Results Patients in the L-PNI group had greater pathologic TNM stage, larger tumors, lower Serum albumin levels, and greater percentage of chemotherapy than those in the H-PNI group(P<0.05). The H-PNI group was associated with significantly fewer postoperative complications than the L-PNI group(P<0.05). For the patients with H-PNI, the MST was 61.6 months an the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS were 91.3%, 80.1%, and 74.1%, respectively. For the patients with L-PNI, the MST was 49.9 months and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS were 82.0%, 63.5%, and 53.5%, respectively. There was significant difference in survival between the two groups(P<0.05). TNM staging and PNI were showed to be independent prognostic factors. Conclusion Different PNI of NSCLC has certain heterogeneity. Patients with H-PNI show better survival and lower postoperative complications rate than those with L-PNI. Key words: Carcinoma, non-small-cell lung Prognosis Prognostic nutritional index