Abstract
BACKGROUND: Controlling nutritional status (CONUT) and tumor markers are associated with prognosis in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study is aimed at exploring the potential usefulness of T-CONUT, constructed by combining CONUT and tumor markers, for NSCLC patients undergoing radical surgery. METHODS: A total of 483 patients with NSCLC underwent radical surgical resection. The receiver characteristic operating curve (ROC) was used to select the tumor marker with the highest predictive performance, and CONUT was combined with this marker to construct the T-CONUT. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to analyze the overall survival (OS), and chi-square analysis was used to analyze the association between T-CONUT and clinicopathological characteristics. The independent risk factors were analyzed by Cox regression. A nomogram was constructed by R studio. Calibration plots, the c-index, and decision curves were evaluated for the performance of the nomogram. RESULTS: ROC analysis showed that the predictive performance of CYFRA21-1 was better than that of CEA, NSE, and SCC. CYFRA21-1 was selected for combining with CONUT to construct T-CONUT. Elevated T-CONUT indicates poor prognosis of patients. Histological type, pTNM, and T-CONUT are independent risk factors associated with patient prognosis. The areas under the curve of the nomogram for predicting 3- and 5-year OS were 0.760 and 0.761, respectively. CONCLUSION: T-CONUT comprising CYFRA21-1 and CONUT can effectively predict the prognosis of NSCLC patients.