Prognostic Nutritional Index Predicts Life Expectancy of Patients with End-Stage Oral Cancer: A Retrospective Study

摘要

Background: Generally, clinicians do not accurately estimate life expec-tancy in terminally ill patients with cancer. Aim: To evaluate the value of the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) for accurately estimating the life expectancy of patients with end-stage oral cancer. Design: A longitudinal section study. Setting/participants: Fifteen patients (12 men;mean age: 71.7 years) who died of oral cancer between 2005 and 2014 (the terminal group) were included. The mean PNI values at the initial visit and at 3, 2, and 1 months before the deaths were comparatively analyzed. Results: The mean follow-up period was 133 days. At the initial examination, the PNI values were 49.1 ± 4.5 (p = 0.6723). The PNI value of the terminal group was 35.6 ± 5.1 at 2 months before death and 28.6 ± 3.0 at 1 month before death. The PNI values at 3, 2, and 1 months before death in the terminal group significantly differed from each other and from that at the initial visit and steadily decreased until death. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the utility of PNI as a prognostic index in patients with end-stage oral cancer patients. Furthermore, the PNI should be routinely considered in the nutritional management of patients with oral cancer nearing death.