GNRI as a Prognostic Factor for Outcomes in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Oncologic patients often suffer from malnutrition which in turn, might have negative impact on treatment outcomes. The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), as an index of impaired nutritional status, has emerged as a significant prognostic factor for short-and long-term outcomes in cancer patients. The aim of the current systematic review is to determine whether the GNRI is an independent prognostic factor of postoperative complications and survival in cancer patients. A systematic search was conducted to identify studies, published from 2005 to 2019, which assessed associations between GNRI and short- and long-term outcomes in cancer patients. Eighteen studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were included in the analysis. Low scores of GNRI were associated with increased risk for developing postoperative complications and impaired survival of cancer patients in most studies. Our findings support the use of the GNRI in the clinical practice, since it is a simple and reliable tool for assessing nutritional status in oncologic patients. More prospective, multi-centered studies are warranted to confirm the current results, as well as the role of nutritional support in improving the prognosis of cancer patients.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Authors’ Contributions

Irene Lidoriki: conceived and designed the study, analyzed the data, interpreted the data, wrote the paper, reviewed the content of the article and approved the final version of the article.

Dimitrios Schizas: designed the study, analyzed the data, interpreted the data, wrote the article, reviewed the content of the article and approved the final version of the article.

Maximos Frountzas: analyzed the data, reviewed the content of the article and approved the final version of the article.

Nikolaos Machairas: reviewed the content of the article and approved the final version of the article.

Anastasia Prodromidou: reviewed the content of the article and approved the final version of the article.

Alkistis Kapelouzou: reviewed the content of the article and approved the final version of the article.

Ioannis Karavokyros: reviewed the content of the article and approved the final version of the article.

Emmanouil Pikoulis: reviewed the content of the article and approved the final version of the article.

Stefanos N. Kales: interpreted the data, contributed to the drafting of the article, reviewed the content of the paper and approved the final version of the article.

Theodoros Liakakos: interpreted the data, contributed to the drafting of the article, reviewed the content of the paper and approved the final version of the article.