Prediction study of prognostic nutrition index on the quality of life of patients with cervical cancer undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy

PeerJ. 2023 May 19:11:e15442. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15442. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and quality of life (QOL) of patients with cervical cancer (CC) who underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy and to reveal the effect of PNI on QOL and its prognostic value.

Methods: A total of 138 CC patients who underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from January 2020 to October 2022 were selected as the study subjects via convenient sampling. According to the PNI cut-off value of 48.8, they were divided into a high-PNI group and a low-PNI group, and the quality of life of the two groups was compared. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw the survival curve, and the Log-Rank test was employed to compare the survival rates of the two groups.

Results: The scores of physical functioning and overall QOL in the high-PNI group were significantly higher than those in the low-PNI group (P < 0.05). The scores of fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain and diarrhea were higher than those in the low-PNI group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The objective response rates were 96.77% and 81.25% in the high-PNI group and the low-PNI group, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.045). The 1-year survival rates of patients with high PNI and low PNI were 92.55% and 72.56% in the high-PNI group and the low-PNI group, respectively; the difference in survival rates was statistically significant (P = 0.006).

Conclusion: The overall quality of life of CC patients with low PNI receiving radiotherapy and chemotherapy is lower than that of patients with high PNI. Low PNI reduces the tolerance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and the objective response rate, which can be used as a prognostic indicator for cervical cancer patients.

Keywords: Cervical cancer; Chemotherapy; Prognostic nutritional index; Quality of life; Radiotherapy; Survival prognosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Female
  • Humans
  • Nutrition Assessment
  • Prognosis
  • Quality of Life
  • Radiation Oncology*
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / drug therapy

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No: 2021M700779 to Fangjie He), the Medical Research Fund of Guangdong Province (Grant No: A2022044 to Fangjie He), the Fujian provincial health technology project (Youth Scientific Research Project, 2019-1-50 to Jianqing Zheng), the Education and Scientific Research Project for Young and Middle-Aged Teachers of Fujian Provincial Department of Education (Grant No: JAT190223 to Ying Chen) and the Nursery Fund Project of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University (Grant No: 2021MP05 to Jianqing Zheng). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.