The prognostic nutritional index predicts the biochemical recurrence of patients treated with robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

Objective To evaluate the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in predicting the biochemical recurrence (BCR) of patients treated with robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP). Methods The clinical data of 136 patients treated with RALP in the Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were retrospectively analyzed. The endpoint of observation was BCR. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was evaluated to determine the optimal cutoff value of PNI. The correlation of the PNI with BCR was estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards model. Results The optimal cutoff value of the PNI was 46.03 according to the ROC curve. (95% confidence interval: 0.604-0.805, Youden index = 0.401, sensitivity = 82.5%, specificity = 57.6%, p < 0.01). Multivariate Cox analysis showed that clinical staging, prostate-specific antigen, and PNI were independent prognostic factors for predicting BCR in patients treated with RALP. Conclusion PNI is an independent prognostic factor for predicting BCR in patients treated with RALP. The incorporation of the PNI into risk assessments may provide additional prognostic information.