PROGNOSTIC EVALUATION OF GERIATRIC NUTRITIONAL RISK INDEX IN GERIATRIC PATIENTS WITH HEAD AND NECK CANCER

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic effect of Geriatric Nutritional Index screening performed before oncological treatments in geriatric age group locally advanced head and neck cancer patients. Materials and Method: Eighty-two patients diagnosed at geriatric age between January 2016 and November 2024 were included in the study. All patients had locally advanced disease (Stage 3 and Stage 4 disease). Age, tumor diameter, body mass index, Geriatric Nutritional Index, neutrophillymphocyte ratio , platelet-lymphocyte ratio , c-reactive protein, hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, and primary tumor standardized uptake value maximum (pSUVmax) numerical variables were analyzed. Geriatric Nutritional Index was divided into four subgroups; patients with> 98 were considered as no risk for malnutrition, patients with≤ 98 and ≥ 92 were considered as mild risk, patients with< 92 and ≥ 82 considered as moderate risk and patients with< 82 considered as high risk. Results: The median overall survival of the patients was 16.5 months. The median overall survival of patients with severe-risk Geriatric Nutritional Index was 5 months, while the median overall survival of patients with no-risk group was 44 months (p=0.067). In multivariate Coxregression analysis Geriatric Nutritional Index was identified as the single factor independently affecting survival (p: 0.032). Conclusion: Geriatric Nutritional Index gave a comparable result with clinical and laboratory parameters known to have an effect on prognosis. Especially in geriatric patients, who are a group vulnerable to neglect in terms of treatment, a practical evaluation and Geriatric Nutritional Index calculation before oncological process planning may be guiding in terms of creating a survival prediction and deciding on the treatment process. Keywords: Geriatrics; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Nutrition Assessment; Mortality; Aged.