Survival outcomes and prognostic nutritional index in very elderly small-cell lung cancer patients: importance of active treatment and nutritional support

Figures & data

Table 1. Comparison of patient characteristics between groups with low and high PNI.

Characteristics, n (%)	All patients, n = 71	Low PNI, n = 21	High PNI, n = 50	p Value
Age, mean ± SD, years	77.8 ± 3.2	77.7 ± 2.9	77.9 ± 3.4	0.801
Male sex	59 (83.1)	18 (85.7)	41 (82)	1.000
Smoking status
Ex-smoker	66 (93)	1 (4.8)	4 (8)	1.000
Never smoker	5 (7.0)	20 (95.2)	46 (92)
Presence of chronic disease(s)	46 (64.8)	6 (28.6)	19 (38)	0.448
ECOG PS at diagnosis
0	14 (19.7)	5 (23.8)	9 (18)	0.717
1	39 (54.9)	10 (47.6)	29 (58)
2	14 (19.7)	4 (19)	10 (20)
3	4 (5.6)	2 (9.5)	2 (4)
Stage at diagnosis
Limited disease	13 (18.3)	4 (19)	9 (18)	1.000
Extensive disease	58 (81.7)	17 (81)	41 (82)
Treatment method
No treatment	19 (26.8)	11 (52.4)	8 (16)	0.006
CT or RT	13 (18.3)	2 (9.5)	11 (22)
Palliative CT	39 (54.9)	8 (38.1)	31 (62)

CT: chemotherapy; ECOG PS: eastern cooperative oncology group performance status; PNI: prognostic nutritional index; RT: radiation therapy; SD: standard deviation. Italic and bold characters represent statistical significance at the p<0.005 level.

Figure 1. Relationship between treatment method and overall survival.

Figure 2. Relationship PNI groups and overall survival.

Table 2. Overall survival and demographic and clinical parameters.

Parameters	Groups	Median OS, months (95% CI)	p Value
Sex	Male	5.9 (4.8–6.9)	0.309
	Female	5.2 (2.5–7.9)
Smoking status	Ex-smoker	11.3 (0–24.4)	0.322
	Never smoker	5.9 (4.8–6.9)
Chronic disease(s)	Presence	5.9 (5.1–6.6)	0.867
	Absence	5.2 (2.1–8.3)
ECOG PS in diagnosis	0	10.4 (6–14.7)	0.258
	1	5.9 (4.2–7.6)
	2	4.7 (3.9–5.4)
	3	5.9 (0–20.2)
Stage at diagnosis	Limited disease	7 (2.9–11.1)	0.837
	Extensive disease	5.7 (4.7–6.6)
Treatment method	No treatment	3.1 (2.3–3.8)	<0.001
	CT or RT	15.5 (13.3–17.7)
	Palliative CT	6.1 (5.5–6.7)
PNI	Low	3.9 (2.1–5.7)	<0.001
	High	7 (5.8-8.1)

CI: confidence interval; CT: chemotherapy; ECOG PS: eastern cooperative oncology group performance status; OS: overall survival; PNI: prognostic nutritional index; RT: radiation therapy

Table 3. Factors affecting overall survival - multivariate Cox regression analysis.

Factors	HR	95% CI	p Value
Treatment method
No treatment (0)	–	–	–
CT or RT (vis-à-vis 0)	0.153	0.070–0.335	<0.001
Palliative CT (vis-à-vis 0)	0.585	0.322–1.053	0.074
Low PNI (vis-à-vis high PNI)	2.220	1.282–3.844	0.004

CI: confidence interval; CT: chemotherapy; HR: hazard ratio; PNI: prognostic nutritional index; RT: radiation therapy

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.