The prognostic nutritional index can be a prognostic indicator in colorectal carcinoma

Purpose Preoperative assessments regarding a patient's immunological and nutritional condition are required to predict the outcomes of patients with malignant tumors. The aim of the current study was to clarify the significance of Onodera's prognostic nutritional index (OPNI), which can simply account for the immunological and nutritional conditions, in patients with colorectal carcinoma. Methods The correlations of the preoperative OPNI value with clinicopathological features were examined in 219 patients with colorectal carcinoma who had been surgically treated. Results Not only the tumor stage (P = 0.028) and venous invasion (P = 0.002), but also an OPNI of less than 40 (P = 0.002) were found to be independently correlated with a worse prognosis of patients with colorectal carcinoma. Conclusion The preoperative OPNI can be used as a simple prognostic indicator in colorectal carcinoma.