Nutritional status of patients with driver gene mutation-negative non-small cell lung cancer after postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a significant challenge for public health and is closely associated with malnutrition; however, few studies have attempted to examine the malnutrition experienced by patients with driver gene-negative NSCLC who have undergone combined chemotherapy after surgery. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of patients with driver gene-negative NSCLC who received adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery and examined the application value of three nutritional screening tools: Nutritional Risk Screening Scale 2022 (NRS-2002), the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), and the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment Scale (PG-SGA).

METHODS

Data from patients with driver gene-negative NSCLC who underwent sleeve surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital from January 2021 to December 2021 were prospectively collected. The NRS-2002, PG-SGA, and PNI were used to assess the risk of malnutrition in patients. The correlation between the three nutritional screening tools and various nutritional indicators was analyzed, and the diagnostic efficacy of the three nutritional screening tools was compared using the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition as the gold standard for malnutrition assessment (diagnosis).

RESULTS

There was a correlation between the three nutritional screening tools and human body composition and blood biochemical indicators (P<0.05), and the composite correlation coefficient between PNI and various nutritional indicators was the highest (r=0.683; P<0.001). In the evaluation of diagnostic efficacy, PG-SGA demonstrated the highest sensitivity and accuracy index of 85.70% and 54.00%, respectively, while the NRS-2002 had the highest specificity at 71.30%.

CONCLUSIONS

All three nutritional screening tools can provide a basis for diagnosing malnutrition in patients with driver gene-negative NSCLC after postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy, and their combined application in clinical practice can more comprehensively reflect the nutritional status of these patients.