Preoperative controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score is a prognostic factor for early-stage cervical cancer patients with high-risk factors

Objective. The goal of the study was to confirm whether preoperative controlling nutritional status (CONUT) was a prognostic factor in early-stage cervical cancer patients with high-risk factors after surgery and postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Methods. Between 2004 and 2015, a total of 698 patients who were treated with surgery and postoperative CCRT were included in this retrospective study. The prescribed dose for postoperative radiotherapy was 45-50.4 Gy in 25-28 fractions and the concurrent chemotherapy regimen contained cisplatin or paclitaxel. Based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the patients were classified into low (<3) and high (>= 3) CONUT groups. Results. Of all study patients, 471 (67.5%) patients were included in the low CONUT group. The low CONUT group had significantly better 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than the high CONUT group (p<0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). A high CONUT score was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, parametrial invasion, and poorer nutritional status, including lower body mass index (BMI) and lower prognostic nutritional index (PNI) score (p<0.05, respectively). The CONUT score was an independent predictor of DFS and OS in multivariate analysis. Notably, the CONUT score still efficiently stratified DFS in the high PNI score group (P = 0.001). Conclusions. The preoperative high CONUT scores indicated poor prognosis for early-stage cervical cancer patients with high-risk factors treated with surgery and postoperative CCRT. In clinical practice, patients with high CONUT score should be considered to receive consolidation chemotherapy. (C) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study aimed to confirm whether preoperative controlling nutritional status (CONUT) was a prognostic factor in early-stage cervical cancer patients and found that a high CONUT score was associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, patients with high CONUT scores should be considered for consolidation chemotherapy in clinical practice.