Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition Criteria and Immunonutritional Status Predict Chemoadherence and Survival in Stage II/III Gastric Cancer Treated with XELOX Chemotherapy

Backgroud: Adjuvant chemotherapy is crucial for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer. However, various factors negatively impact chemoadherence, with malnutrition after gastrectomy being a critical determinant. This study aims to analyze the impact of malnutrition, assessed through the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) and other immunonutritional indices, on chemoadherence and its subsequent effect on survival.

Methods: This retrospective study included 116 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy and received oxaliplatin and capecitabine (XELOX). Preoperative nutritional status was assessed using the GLIM criteria along with other immunonutritional indices, such as the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score, and modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS). Chemotherapy adherence was measured using relative dose intensity (RDI). Statistical analyses included least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression to identify the key predictors of RDI and Cox proportional hazards models and assess the impact on survival.

Results: Overall, 116 patients were included in this analysis. In the multivariate analysis using LASSO regression, higher GLIM severity was independently associated with a lower RDI (coefficient = -0.0216; p < 0.01). Other significant factors influencing RDI included older age (p < 0.01), female sex (p = 0.02), higher mGPS (p = 0.03), higher CONUT score (p = 0.04), and higher CAR (p = 0.05), all of which were associated with a lower RDI. The Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that higher RDI was significantly associated with better survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.06; p < 0.005).

Conclusions: This study highlights the critical role of immunonutritional status, particularly as measured using the GLIM criteria, in maintaining adherence to chemotherapy and improving survival outcomes in patients with gastric cancer. Routine preoperative nutritional assessments using GLIM can help identify high-risk patients, and early nutritional interventions may improve chemotherapy adherence and outcomes. These findings support the integration of nutritional strategies, specifically targeting those identified by the GLIM, into standard care to enhance the efficacy and survival of chemotherapy.