Significance of the CONUT Score in the Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer Patients

Introduction/objective: Nutritional status is related to the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The CONUT (The Controlling Nutritional Status) score is a recent nutritional marker. This study aimed to examine the association of preoperative CONUT score with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), while the secondary aim was to assess the importance of preoperative nutritional status for the development of postoperative complications.

Methods: The total number of CRC patients included in the study was 111. All patients underwent laboratory analyses within a week before surgery. Medical data were collected from archived data at the Zvezdara University Medical Centre. The CONUT score was analyzed in relation to the OS and DFS.

Results: Using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Log-rank test, a statistically significant difference in OS and DFS between groups of patients with different CONUT scores was observed. Patients with higher CONUT scores have a longer duration of hospitalization after surgery, a longer total length of stay, and a more severe degree of postoperative complications.

Conclusion: The CONUT score is related to short-term treatment outcomes, such as the length of intrahospital treatment and frequency and severity of postoperative complications, but also to long-term prognostic parameters. Early nutritional screening may be of prognostic significance.