The role of nutritional assessment for predicting Radiotherapy-induced adverse events in patients with gastric cancer

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of nutritional factors in predicting radiotherapy-associated toxicities for gastric cancer patients. Methods: A total of 285 gastric cancer patients who underwent radiotherapy in our hospital between 2010 and 2017 were included in this retrospective study. Nutritional status assessment included body weight loss (BWL), body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, nutrition risk screening 2002(NRS-2002), patient-generated subjective global assessment(PG-SGA) and nutritional risk index (NRI). Results: Of all patients, 19.6% were underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m2), 25.6% were hypoalbuminemia (<35 g l−1) and 48.8% lost ≥10% of body weight in the 6 month interval before radiotherapy(BWL). Meanwhile, 73.3%, 78.6 and 47.2% of the patients were diagnosed as malnutrition based on NRS-2002, PG-SGA and NRI, respectively. Hematological adverse events were present in 91.2% (≥Grade 1) and 20.4% (≥Grade 3) of the patients. Non-hematological adverse events occurred in 89.8% (≥Grade1) and 14.4% (≥Grade 3) of the patients. Multivariate analyses indicated that only hypoalbuminemia(<35 g l−1) was independent predictor for Grade 3/4 hematological and non-hematological adverse events. Meanwhile, higher BWL(≥10%) was also independent predictor for Grade 3/4 non-hematological adverse events. NRS-2002, PG-SGA and NRI score were not associated with treatment-induced adverse events. Conclusions: Body weight loss and serum albumin are useful factors for predicting severe adverse events in gastric cancer patients who undergo radiotherapy. Advances in knowledge: The use of nutritional factors in predicting severe adverse events enables implementation of individualized treatment strategies for early and intensive nutritional interventions in high-risk patients.