The value of the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) in predicting outcomes and guiding the treatment strategy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients receiving intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with or without chemotherapy

Abstract

Our results suggest that the PNI is a reliable independent prognostic factor in NPC patients treated with IMRT. For stage II-IVb patients with PNI ≤ 52.0, CCRT alone does not achieve satisfactory outcomes, and further studies on treatment optimization are needed.

Prognostic value of nutritional risk screening 2002 scale in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A large‐scale cohort study

“…42,43 Given that nutrition has a significant impact on prognosis, it is essential to identify patients at high risk of nutritional impairment and to deliver nutritional intervention as early as possible. Based on our finding that patients with an NRS2002 score of 3 achieved Compared to previous studies of nutritional status in NPC, [12][13][14][15] this is the first application of the NRS2002 scale to consider age and severity of disease as well as nutritional status. The proposed revised NRS2002 scale provides more comprehensive understanding of patient and disease status, and may, therefore, have more significant clinical value than the individual indexes (weight loss or prognostic nutritional index) investigated in previous studies.…”

“…Compared to previous studies of nutritional status in NPC, this is the first application of the NRS2002 scale to consider age and severity of disease as well as nutritional status. The proposed revised NRS2002 scale provides more comprehensive understanding of patient and disease status, and may, therefore, have more significant clinical value than the individual indexes (weight loss or prognostic nutritional index) investigated in previous studies . Moreover, this was the largest sample size investigated to date, which confers greater statistical power to detect significant differences.…”

“…The proposed revised NRS2002 scale provides more comprehensive understanding of patient and disease status, and may, therefore, have more significant clinical value than the individual indexes (weight loss or prognostic nutritional index) investigated in previous studies. [12][13][14][15] Moreover, this was the largest sample size investigated to date, which confers greater statistical power to detect significant differences. Given the unbalanced distribution of some factors between different NRS2002 score groups, we used the PSM method to match these factors and reduce potential bias.…”

“…Weight loss and poor nutritional status are associated with more severe toxicities during chemotherapy and radiotherapy and a poorer response to infection, and adversely affect prognosis in head and neck cancers . In addition, numerous studies have demonstrated that poor nutrition or weight loss are associated with poorer survival outcomes in NPC . Therefore, nutrition and weight loss are major concerns for both clinicians and patients with NPC.…”

“…11 In addition, numerous studies have demonstrated that poor nutrition or weight loss are associated with poorer survival outcomes in NPC. [12][13][14][15] Therefore, nutrition and weight loss are major concerns for both clinicians and patients with NPC. However, previous studies have only assessed a single index (i.e.…”