A Novel Prognostic Score, Based on Preoperative Nutritional Status, Predicts Outcomes of Patients after Curative Resection for Gastric Cancer.

We aimed to determine whether preoperative nutritional status (PNS) was a valuable predictor of outcome in patients with gastric cancer (GC). We retrospectively evaluated 1320 patients with GC undergoing curative resection. The PNS score was constructed based on four objective and easily measurable criteria: prognostic nutritional index (PNI) score 1, serum albumin <35 g/L, body mass index (BMI) <18.5 kg/m, or preoperative weight loss ≥5% of body weight. The PNS score was 2 for patients who met three or four criteria, 1 for those who met one or two criteria, and 0 for those who didn't meet all of these criteria. The overall survival (OS) rates in patients with PNS scores 0, 1, and 2 were 59.1%, 42.4%, and 23.4%, respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed the PNS was an independent predictor for OS (HR for PNS 1 and PNS 2: 1.497, 95 % CI: 1.230-1.820 and 2.434, 95 % CI: 1.773-3.340, respectively; p < 0.001). Furthermore, 5-year OS ranged from 92% (stage I) to 37% (stage III), while the combination of TNM and PNS stratified 5-year OS from 95% (TNM I, PNS 0) to 19% (TNM III, PNS 3). Of note, the prognostic significance of PNS was still maintained when stratified by TNM stage, age, sex, tumor size, anemia and adjuvant chemotherapy (All P < 0.05). The PNS, a novel nutritional-based prognostic score, is independently associated with OS in GC. Prospective studies are needed to validate its clinical utility.