Is the Glasgow Prognostic Score Applicable to Both Early- and Advanced-Stage Gastric Cancers?

Prognostic significance of the preoperative C-reactive protein-albumin-lymphocyte (CALLY) index on outcomes after gastrectomy for gastric cancer

PURPOSE

Systemic inflammatory response markers are reported to be prognostic for patients with cancer. The C-reactive protein (CRP)-albumin-lymphocyte (CALLY) index has been established as an immuno-nutritional scoring system. The aim of this study was to clarify the impact of the preoperative CALLY index on the outcome of patients undergoing gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

METHODS

We analyzed the data of 826 patients who underwent gastrectomy for stage I, II, or III gastric cancer between 2010 and 2017. The CALLY index was defined as (albumin × lymphocyte)/(CRP × 104).

RESULTS

The cut-off of the CALLY index was 2. The 147 patients with a preoperative CALLY index < 2 had significantly worse overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) than those with a CALLY index ≥ 2 (P < 0.01, P < 0.01, respectively). Multivariate analysis identified that a CALLY index < 2 (P = 0.02), intraoperative blood loss (P < 0.01), and stage II or III disease (P < 0.01) were independent and significant predictors of worse RFS. A CALLY index < 2 (P = 0.01), intraoperative blood loss (P < 0.01), postoperative complications (P = 0.02), and stage II or III disease (P < 0.01) were independent and significant predictors of worse OS.

CONCLUSION

The preoperative CALLY index was independently associated with a poor prognosis for patients after gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

The Prognostic Value of the Prognostic Nutritional Index in Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Gastric Cancer Treated with Immunotherapy

In recent years, the therapeutic effect of monoclonal antibodies against programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer has been confirmed in many studies. The exploration and discovery of new biomarker combinations based on tumor characteristics and tumor microenvironment help screen superior patients and realize precise immunotherapy. As an evaluation index of immunonutritional status, the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is low cost, simple and easy to obtain, and effective in determining the prognosis of tumor patients. We selected 268 consecutive AGC patients who were treated with ICI therapy from December 2014 to May 2021. We measured their pretreatment of the PNI levels and performed univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses of progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) after ICI therapy. The low pretreatment PNI level of AGC patients was significantly correlated with shorter PFS (p < 0.001) and OS (p < 0.001) after ICI treatment. In univariate and multivariate analyses of the associations between PNI and OS or PFS, PNI is an independent prognostic factor for PFS (HR = 1.511; 95%CI 1.154-1.977; p = 0.003) and OS (HR = 1.431; 95%CI 1.049-1.951; p = 0.024), respectively. Notably, decreased PNI during treatment with ICIs was associated with early relapse and death. Pretreatment with PNI might help to identify AGC patients who will obtain a survival benefit from ICI therapy.

The clinical influence of the preoperative lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio on the postoperative outcome of patients with early-stage gastrointestinal cancer

AIM

The lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) is useful for predicting the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC) and those with colorectal cancer (CRC) undergoing surgery. The relationship between the LMR and postoperative outcome of patients with early-stage gastrointestinal cancers such as stage I GC and CRC remains unclear.

METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated 323 stage I GC and 152 stage I CRC patients undergoing surgery. Univariate and multivariate analyses using the Cox proportional hazards model were performed to identify the clinical characteristics associated with overall survival (OS), and the cut-off values of these variables were determined by receiver operating characteristic analysis. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used for postoperative survival comparisons according to the LMR (GC: LMR < 4.2 vs ≥4.2; CRC: LMR < 3.0 vs ≥3.0).

RESULTS

Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that OS was significantly associated with the LMR (<4.2/≥4.2) (HR, 2.489; 95% CI, 1.317-4.702; P = 0.005), as well as age (>75/≤75 years) (HR, 3.511; 95% CI, 1.881-6.551; P < 0.001) and albumin level (≤3.5/>3.5 g/dL) (HR, 3.040; 95% CI, 1.575-5.869; P = 0.001), in stage I GC patients. Survival analysis demonstrated a significantly poorer OS in stage I GC patients with a LMR < 4.2 compared with ≥4.2 (P < 0.001). In stage I CRC patients, despite a significant difference in OS according to the LMR (<3.0 vs ≥3.0) (P = 0.040), univariate analysis revealed no significant association between the LMR and OS.

CONCLUSION

LMR is a useful predictor of the postoperative outcome of stage I GC patients treated surgically.

Predicting Postoperative Events in Patients With Gastric Cancer: A Comparison of Five Nutrition Assessment Tools

BACKGROUND/AIM

We compared the adequacy of five nutrition assessment tools with respect to their predictive value in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (GC) receiving radical surgery.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Five nutrition assessment tools-Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), malnutritional universal screening tool (MUST), nutritional risk screening, patient generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI)-were assessed preoperatively for stage III GC patients. The correlation between postoperative events and nutritional status was further analyzed.

RESULTS

Most of the nutritional tools accurately predicted length of hospital stay and grade 3 or higher surgical complications, while only the GPS correlated with 30-day readmission and surgical complications. The PG-SGA performed the poorest among the five tools and failed to predict any postoperative event.

CONCLUSION

The application of GPS is recommended as a prognostic index for patients with locally advanced GC prior to radical surgery.

Prognostic value of modified Glasgow Prognostic Score in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

PURPOSE

To investigate the prognostic value of preoperative modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with transurethral resection of bladder with or without intravesical therapy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed our medical records to identify 1,096 consecutive patients with NMIBC treated with transurethral resection of bladder. The mGPS of each patient was calculated on the basis of preoperative serum C-reactive protein and albumin. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to investigate the association of mGPS with recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

RESULTS

The mGPS of 0, 1, and 2 was observed in 764 (69.7%), 299 (27.3%), and 33 (3.0%) patients, respectively. On univariable analysis, mGPS 2 was associated with worse RFS (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 1.60, 95%; CI: 1.01-2.54). However, on multivariable analyses, which adjusted for the effects of established clinicopathologic features, mGPS 2 did not maintain its independent association with RFS (HR: 1.41, 95% CI: 0.88-2.26). On multivariable analysis, mGPS 1 and 2 were both independently associated with worse PFS compared to mGPS 0 (HR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.37-3.12 and HR: 3.31, 95% CI: 1.40-7.87, respectively). The inclusion of mGPS improved the discrimination of a standard prognostic model for PFS from 71.6% to 73.8%. In subgroup analyses, mGPS 1 was associated with PFS (HR 2.09, 95% CI: 1.24-3.52) on multivariable analysis in patients with the European Association of Urology high-risk group. Additionally, in patients treated with bacillus Calmette-Guérin, mGPS 2 was associated with disease PFS (HR10.1, 95% CI: 2.61-38.8).

CONCLUSIONS

The mGPS independently predicts PFS in patients with NMIBC. Inclusion of mGPS in prognostic models might help identify patients who are more likely to fail standard therapy and experience disease progression and, therefore, may benefit from intensified therapy such as radical cystectomy or inclusion in clinical trials of novel immunotherapeutics.

Prealbumin and lymphocyte-based prognostic score, a new tool for predicting long-term survival after curative resection of stage II/III gastric cancer

The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the prognostic significance of pre-treatment immunological and nutritional statuses in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (GC), and to use the risk factors to develop a predictive score. A total of 731 patients who underwent gastrectomy for stage II/III GC from November 2010 to December 2015 were recruited into this retrospective study. On the basis of univariate and further multivariate Cox regression analyses, decreased pretreatment lymphocyte count (<1·5×109/litre) and prealbumin concentrations (<180 mg/l) were identified to be independently associated with poorer overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Low albumin concentrations (<33 g/l) were identified as an independent risk factor only for OS, but not for DFS. Thereafter, patients who had a decreased prealbumin concentration and lymphocyte count were given a combination of serum prealbumin concentration and lymphocyte count (Co-PaL) score of 2. Patients with only one or neither of these concentrations were given a Co-PaL score of 1 or 0, respectively. Both the OS and the DFS time were inversely related to the Co-PaL scores, and the differences among the three groups were all significant. In contrast, the prognosis did not differ significantly between patients with good nutrition and those with mild to moderate malnutrition according to the prognostic nutritional index. This study indicated that the simple scoring system could accurately predict the prognosis of patients who underwent gastrectomy for stage II/III GC. The score might be helpful in terms of clinical preoperative decision-making.