Combined analysis of the preoperative and postoperative prognostic nutritional index offers a precise predictor of the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer.

PURPOSE

The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is considered useful for predicting the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC). This retrospective study investigated the relationship between both the pre- and postoperative PNI and the prognosis of GC patients.

METHODS

The subjects of this study were 254 patients who underwent curative surgery for histopathologically diagnosed GC.

RESULTS

Patients were divided according to their pre- and postoperative PNI as follows: preoperative PNI of ≥ 52 (pre-PNI), preoperative PNI of < 52 (pre-PNI), postoperative PNI of ≥ 49 (post-PNI), and postoperative PNI of < 49 (pre-PNI). Both pre- and postoperative PNI were significantly associated with GC prognosis. Patients were then divided as follows: group A, patients with pre-PNI and post-PNI; group B, patients with either pre-PNI and post-PNI or pre-PNI and post-PNI; and group C, patients with pre-PNI and post-PNI. The 5-year survival rates were 100.0, 83.0, and 67.1% for groups A, B, and C, respectively. Multivariate analysis indicated that the combination of pre- and postoperative PNI was an independent prognostic indicator.

CONCLUSIONS

Combined analysis of the pre- and postoperative PNI offers accurate information about the prognosis of patients with GC.