Is the Prognostic Nutritional Index a Novel Prognostic Factor in Patients With Unresectable/Metastatic Gallbladder and Cholangiocarcinoma Receiving Chemotherapy?

Gallbladder and biliary tract tumors are rare but highly fatal cancers. In patients diagnosed with unresectable/metastatic gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinomas, systemic chemotherapy is recommended if the patient's performance is good. Randomized studies on this subject are limited, and there is no standard treatment choice. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is a measurement calculated using albumin and absolute lymphocyte value, reflecting the immunological and nutritional status of the cancer patient. The aim of our study is to evaluate the prognostic effectiveness of PNI in unresectable/metastatic gallbladder and biliary tract cancers. The PNI was calculated using albumin and lymphocyte values at the time of diagnosis (10 x albumin g/dL + 0.005 x total lymphocyte/mm). The relationship between PNI and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival was examined. The prognostic nutritional index means of the patients included in the study was 44.8 (95% CI: 42.9-46.7), and the median was 44.77 (minimum: 22, maximum: 61.4). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated a statistically significant prediction of patients' OS when the prognostic nutritional index was < 44 (AUC: 0.715, sensitivity: 54.8%, specificity: 33.3%; p=0.08). We evaluated the prognostic effectiveness of PNI in the subgroup of patients who could receive chemotherapy. In patients receiving chemotherapy, median survival was found to be 8.93 months in the PNI < 44 groups, while median survival was found to be 12.58 months in the PNI ≥ 44 group. The difference between both groups was statistically significant (p = 0.01). In univariate analysis, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, cancer antigen 19.9 (Ca 19.9), and PNI were statistically significant variables in predicting OS (p < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, the ECOG performance status, cancer antigen 19.9 (Ca 19.9), and PNI were found to be independent factors in predicting OS (p < 0.05). We believe that PNI can be used as a marker to assist the clinician in evaluating the prognosis of patients in the clinic and predicting treatment tolerance.