Preoperative Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) Score Predicts Short-Term Surgical Prognosis in Patients with Gastric Cancer After Laparoscopy-Assisted Radical Gastrectomy

Abstract

Background: The Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score is an emerging nutrition assessment tool that is very useful in patients with gastric cancer who usually experience weight loss and malnutrition. The aim of our study was to assess the predictive ability of the preoperative CONUT score for short-term prognosis in patients with gastric cancer undergoing laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 309 patients who underwent curative laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy. The patients were divided into two groups according to the optimal cutoff value of the CONUT score. The clinical association for the CONUT score, characteristics, and postoperative complications were evaluated and analyzed. The risk factors for complications were identified by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: The preoperative CONUT score showed a good predictive ability for postoperative complications (AUC=0.718，Youden index=0.343)，with an optimal cutoff value of 2.5. The patients with high CONUT scores had a higher incidence of overall complications (P<0.001) and mild complications (P<0.001). Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that the CONUT score was independently associated with postoperative complications (P=0.012；OR=2.433；95%CI：1.218-4.862).Conclusions：The preoperative CONUT score was identified as a reliable nutritional assessment tool for predicting short-term prognosis in patients with gastric cancer after laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy.