Prognostic factors for elderly gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy

Background Patients with gastric cancer are aging in Japan. It is not clear which patients and which surgical procedures have survival benefits after gastrectomy. A multivariate analysis was performed. Methods The medical records of 166 patients aged ≥ 80 years who underwent gastrectomy without macroscopic residual tumors were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analyses using Cox proportional hazard models were performed to detect prognostic factors for overall survival. Results In univariate analyses, age (≥ 90 vs. ≥ 80, < 85), performance status (3 vs. 0), American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA-PS) (3, 4 vs. 1, 2), Onodera’s prognostic nutritional index (< 40 vs. ≥ 45), the physiological score of the Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and morbidity (POSSUM) (≥ 40 vs. ≥ 20, ≤ 29), surgical approach (laparoscopic vs. open), extent of gastrectomy (total, proximal vs. distal), extent of lymphadenectomy (D1 vs. ≥ D2), pathological stage (II–IV vs. I), and residual tumor (R1 vs. R0) were significantly correlated with worse overall survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that ASA-PS [3, 4 vs. 1, 2, hazard ratio (HR) 2.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.24–4.24], extent of gastrectomy (total vs. distal, HR 2.17, 95% CI 1.10–4.31) (proximal vs. distal, HR 4.05, 95% CI 1.45–11.3), extent of lymphadenectomy (D0 vs. ≥ D2, HR 12.4, 95% CI 1.58–97.7), and pathological stage were independent risk factors for mortality. Conclusions ASA-PS was a useful predictor for postoperative mortality. Gastrectomy including cardia is best avoided.

Predictive Value of the Prognostic Nutritional Index in Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Rectal Cancer

Background/Aim: Prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) indicate nutritional status and host immunity. We used immunohistochemistry and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values calculated using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to investigate relationships of these factors with pathological and radiological characteristics in rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). Patients and Methods: We evaluated expression levels of VEGFA, CD8, CD33, and ADC values in tumors pre/post nCRT; and analyzed the relationships between those factors and PNI, NLR in 32 patients. Results: Pretreatment PNI negatively correlated with change in tumor stromal CD8+ T cells and positively correlated with ADC values. Pretreatment NLR and PNI change correlated with recurrence-free survival (RFS). Conclusion: Patients with higher pretreatment PNI had greater changes in ADC values and stromal CD8+ T-cell counts, and those with greater PNI reduction from nCRT had a worse prognosis. Proper nutritional management during nCRT benefits patients and may lead to better prognosis in rectal cancer.

The Systemic Inflammatory Response Identifies Patients with Adverse Clinical Outcome from Immunotherapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Systemic inflammation is a hallmark of cancer, and it has a pivotal role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and progression. We conducted a retrospective study including 362 patients receiving immune check-point inhibitors (ICIs) across three continents, evaluating the influence of neutrophiles to lymphocytes ratio (NLR), platelets to lymphocytes ratio (PLR), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) on overall (OS), progression free survival (PFS), and radiologic responses. In our 362 patients treated with immunotherapy, median OS and PFS were 9 and 3.5 months, respectively. Amongst tested inflammatory biomarkers, patients with NLR ≥ 5 had shorter OS (7.7 vs. 17.6 months, p < 0.0001), PFS (2.1 vs. 3.8 months, p = 0.025), and lower objective response rate (ORR) (12% vs. 22%, p = 0.034); similarly, patients with PLR ≥ 300 reported shorter OS (6.4 vs. 16.5 months, p < 0.0001) and PFS (1.8 vs. 3.7 months, p = 0.0006). NLR emerged as independent prognostic factors for OS in univariate and multivariate analysis (HR 1.95, 95%CI 1.45–2.64, p < 0.001; HR 1.73, 95%CI 1.23–2.42, p = 0.002) and PLR remained an independent prognostic factor for both OS and PFS in multivariate analysis (HR 1.60, 95%CI 1.6–2.40, p = 0.020; HR 1.99, 95%CI 1.11–3.49, p = 0.021). Systemic inflammation measured by NLR and PLR is an independent negative prognostic factor in HCC patients undergoing ICI therapy. Further studies are required to understand the biological mechanisms underlying this association and to investigate the predictive significance of circulating inflammatory biomarkers in HCC patients treated with ICIs.

Prognostic Value of the Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index and Prognostic Nutritional Index in Patients With Medulloblastoma Undergoing Surgical Resection

Background: The progression and metastasis of cancers are associated with systematic immune inflammation and nutritional dysfunction. The systemic immune-inflammation index and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) have shown a prognostic impact in several malignancies. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate immune inflammation and nutritional index prognostic significance in patients with medulloblastoma (MB).Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 111 patients with MB between 2001 and 2021 at our institution. The optimal cutoff values for systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte/lymphocyte counts ration (MLR), and PNI were evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Clinical characteristics and SII, NLR, MLR, and PNI were tested with the Pearson's chi-squared test. The Kaplan–Meier survival curves and the Cox proportional hazards model were used to evaluate the effects of immune inflammation and nutritional index on overall survival (OS).Results: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis determined the optimal SII, NLR, MLR, and PNI cutoff values of 2,278, 14.83, 0.219, and 56.5 that significantly interacts with OS and divided the patients into two groups. Comparative survival analysis exhibited that the high-SII cohort had significantly shorter OS (p = 0.0048) than the low-SII cohort. For the univariate analysis, the results revealed that preoperative hydrocephalus (p = 0.01), SII (p = 0.006), albumin–bilirubin score (ALBI) (p = 0.04), and coSII–PNI were predictors of OS. In the multivariate analysis, preoperative hydrocephalus (p &lt; 0.001), ALBI (p = 0.010), SII (p &lt; 0.001), and coSII–PNI as independent prognostic factors were significantly correlated with OS.Conclusion: The preoperative SII, ALBI, and coSII–PNI serve as robust prognostic biomarkers for patients with MB undergoing surgical resection.

Clinical Features of Patients With Heart Failure After the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes

Objective: Acute and chronic stress after severe earthquakes can contribute to cardiovascular events, including heart failure (HF). On April 14, 2016, magnitude 7 earthquakes occurred in the Aso region in the western part of Japan. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of HF in this area after these earthquakes. Methods: We investigated the clinical characteristics and 1-y mortality rate of patients with HF. Nutritional status was evaluated with the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) and the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI). Results: Among a total of 58 cardiovascular events, HF was the most frequently observed (n = 28). The mean age of individuals with HF was 85.5 y. The total incidence of HF was significantly higher compared with the average of the prior 2 y. Disaster influence on mental health was suggested by patient history in 20 patients (71%). The 1-y mortality rate among patients with HF was 50%. Among those who died, 93% had malnutrition status (GNRI <92 and /or PNI ≤38). Conclusions: Our results demonstrated the poor prognosis of patients with HF following the disaster. The prevalence of malnutrition was high in those patients. Careful follow-up is necessary, especially for older people with frailty.