Baseline Low Prognostic Nutritional Index Predicts Poor Survival in Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinomas Treated With Radical Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy

Abstract

Background: To retrospectively assess the impact of prognostic nutritional index (PNI) on survival outcomes of patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Methods: This study incorporated 154 patients with LA-NPC who received exclusive cisplatinum-based CCRT. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was utilized for accessibility of pretreatment PNI cutoffs influencing survival results. The primary end point was the interaction between the overall survival (OS) and PNI values, while cancer-specific survival (CSS) locoregional progression-free survival (LR-PFS), distant metastasis–free survival (DMFS), and PFS were the secondary end points. Results: A rounded PNI cutoff value of 51 was identified in ROC curve analyses to exhibit significant link with CSS, OS, DMFS, and PFS outcomes, but not LR-PFS. Patients grouping per PNI value (≥51 [N = 95] vs <51 [N = 49]) revealed that PNI < 51 group had significantly shorter median CSS (P < 51 as an independent predictor of poor outcomes for each end point (P < 51 was significantly associated with higher rates of weight loss >5% over past 6 months (49.2% versus 11.6%; P =.002) compared to PNI < 51 group. Conclusion: Low pre-CCRT PNI levels were independently associated with significantly reduced CSS, OS, DMFS, and PFS outcomes in patients with LA-NPC treated with definitive CCRT.