Relationship between hearing loss and Glasgow prognostic score in patients with cancer

Objective: Oxidative stress damages cochlear hair cells in vitro. However, the effect of systemic inflammation on hearing loss remains unclear. Growing evidence suggests that malnutrition influences the development of hearing loss. In this study, we aimed to investigate the influence of the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), which is calculated based on systemic inflammatory responses and malnutrition, on auditory threshold increases in patients with cancer.

Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study included patients with cancer who underwent standard pure-tone audiometry (PTA) between November 2014 and May 2023. Patients with complete data in their electronic medical records within 90 days before undergoing standard PTA were included. Multivariate analysis was performed using auditory threshold as the response variable. Covariates, including GPS, were obtained from blood data and physical data before standard PTA. The GPS was classified into three levels based on serum albumin and C-reactive protein levels.

Results: Standard PTA was performed 14,868 times in 5,462 patients. Of these, 742 had cancer and 384 met the inclusion criteria. Multivariate analysis revealed that older age, creatinine clearance <60 mL/min, and high GPS significantly increased the auditory threshold at frequencies of 500-8,000 Hz. A history of platinum drug use and male sex increased the auditory threshold at frequencies >4,000 and >2,000 Hz, respectively.

Conclusion: The GPS was independently associated with elevated standard PTA thresholds in patients with cancer. These results suggest an association between malnutrition/chronic inflammation and hearing loss and provide new information for planning clinical research on hearing loss prevention.