The Prognostic Value of Pretreatment Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index in Esophageal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the prognostic role of the pretreatment geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) in patients with esophageal cancer. Methods: Several electronic databases were searched from inception to January 27, 2022, for relevant studies. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined to assess the association between pretreatment GNRI and the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer. The primary and secondary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA software (version 12.0). Results: Fourteen retrospective studies involving 3981 patients were enrolled. The pooled results demonstrated that lower pretreatment GNRI was an independent prognostic risk factor for poorer OS (HR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.33–1.63, P < 0.001) and PFS (HR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.24–2.31, P = 0.001). Subgroup analysis based on pathological type (squamous cell carcinoma vs. esophageal cancer) and treatment (non-surgery vs. surgery) showed similar results. Conclusion: Pretreatment GNRI was significantly associated with prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer, and lower pretreatment GNRI predicted worse survival. However, more prospective high-quality studies are needed to verify these findings.

Authors’ Contributions

Yang Hu conceived and designed the analyses. Jing Yu and Wei Zhang performed the literature search and selection, collected data, and wrote the paper. Chunmei Wang and Wei Zhang performed statistical analyses. All authors contributed substantially to its revision.

Data Availability Statement

All data used in this meta-analysis were presented in the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare that there are no competing interests associated with this manuscript.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

References

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work has been supported by West China Nursing Discipline Development Special Fund Project, Sichuan University (HXHL20053).