Our study identified factors associated with death due to other diseases after gastrectomy in patients with advanced gastric cancer. We found that severe malnutrition, as defined by the GLIM criteria and assessed by BMI and BWL, as a preoperative predictor and the occurrence of severe complications with CD grade 3 or higher as a postoperative factor were independent factors associated with a poor prognosis for OCS.
In this study, pneumonia was the most common cause of death among the other diseases. GLIM-defined malnutrition has been linked to death due to other diseases caused by pneumonia, which is a complication of gastric cancer and the risk of which increases as undernutrition increases [8]. In addition, severe GLIM-defined undernutrition not only increases postoperative pneumonia but also increases mortality within 90 days after surgery [9]. The present study showed that severe GLIM-defined undernutrition increases the incidence of fatal pneumonia in the long term. This is the first study to show that GLIM-defined undernutrition is a factor associated with a poor prognosis for OCS.
Analysis of body composition revealed that muscle quantity, muscle quality, visceral fat mass, and subcutaneous fat mass were not independent indicators of OCS. Comparison of the survival curves showed that the comorbidities of low SMI and high IMAC were factors for a poor prognosis, as were low VAI and low SAI. A previous report showed the usefulness of the assessment of muscle quantity and quality in predicting death due to other diseases [6], supporting the results of this study. We used the SMI cutoff value, which is the most commonly used value in Asia, and further divided the low-SMI category into moderate and severe SMI, but neither factor was an independent predictor of a poor prognosis. Based on these results, the combination of muscle mass and muscle quality is more useful than muscle mass and muscle quality separately for predicting the prognosis for OCS. The assessment of handgrip strength has been regarded essential for the diagnosis of sarcopenia [10]. In an earlier study, we showed that low preoperative handgrip strength increases the risk of death due to other diseases [11]. In addition to muscle mass and muscle quality measurements, functional assessments may be useful in predicting death due to other diseases, but further study is needed. Although fat mass reflects excessive nutrient accumulation, BWL occurs after gastrectomy. Those with low VAI and low SAI before gastrectomy may experience postoperative energy depletion. This suggests that body composition assessment alone cannot predict death due to other diseases.
Regarding the generalization of our results, determination of GLIM-defined malnutrition based on BMI and BWL does not require any special tests and can be easily performed immediately in daily clinical practice. In addition, GLIM-defined malnutrition can be evaluated repeatedly, not only preoperatively, but also during the follow-up period. In this study, we did not include low SMI in the diagnosis of GLIM-defined malnutrition because the cutoff value for muscle mass has not been established in the current GLIM criteria, so its validity has not been verified. Multivariate analysis suggested that GLIM-defined malnutrition based on BMI and BWL may be more useful than muscle mass alone in predicting death due to other diseases.
This study has some limitations. First, it was a single-center retrospective cohort study. Second, the cutoff values of the parameters are unclear and require validation by additional multicenter cohort studies. This study revealed that a low preoperative BMI or a high BWL may increase the risk of death due to other diseases in gastric cancer patients with postoperative weight loss. Patients with preoperative GLIM-defined malnutrition should be followed up to check their nutritional status and, if necessary, considered for nutritional support. They should also be followed up for any postoperative decline in physical function. Intervention with physical exercise may be necessary to prevent long-term pneumonia and muscle weakness due to lack of use. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify whether such nutritional and exercise interventions have prolonged prognostic effects on patients with GLIM-defined malnutrition.