Long-term postoperative nutritional status affects prognosis even after infectious complications in gastric cancer

Abstract

Aim: This study was designed to investigate the clinical impact of postoperative serum albumin level on severe postoperative complications (SPCs) and prognosis. Materials and Methods: Data for a total of 728 consecutive patients who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer between 2004 and 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. From these patients, a propensity score-matched analysis was performed based on 14 clinicopathological and surgical factors. Results: Short-term decrease in postoperative serum albumin level was not associated with the occurrence of SPCs. Regarding long-term decrease in serum albumin level, a decrease of ≥0.5 g/dl at 3 months did not affect the long-term survival of patients without SPCs, but was related to a significantly poorer prognosis in patients with SPCs. By multivariate analysis, long-term decrease of serum albumin level was an independent prognostic factor in patients with SPCs. Conclusion: Long-term postoperative nutritional status as shown by a low level of albumin was related to prognosis in patients with SPCs.