BACKGROUND This novel meta-analysis was conducted to systematically and comprehensively evaluate the prognostic role of the pretreatment PNI in patients with head and neck neoplasms (HNNs) undergoing radiotherapy. METHODS Three databases, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science, were used to retrieve desired literature. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted and pooled by fixed-effects or random-effects models to analyze the relationship between the PNI and survival outcomes: overall survival (OS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS Ten eligible studies involving 3,458 HNN patients were included in our analysis. The robustness of the pooled results was ensured by heterogeneity tests (I2 = 22.6%, 0.0%, and 0.0% for OS, DMFS, and PFS, respectively). The fixed-effects model revealed a lower pretreatment PNI was significantly related to a worse OS (HR = 1.974; 95% CI: 1.642-2.373; P<0.001), DMFS (HR = 1.959; 95% CI: 1.599-2.401; P<0.001), and PFS (HR = 1.498; 95% CI: 1.219-1.842; P<0.001). The trim-and-fill method (HR = 1.877; 95% CI: 1.361-2.589) was also used to prove that the existing publication bias did not deteriorate the reliability of the relationship. CONCLUSION The pretreatment PNI is a promising indicator to evaluate and predict the long-term prognostic survival outcomes in HNN patients undergoing radiotherapy.

中文翻译：

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预后营养指数（PNI）在接受放疗的头颈部肿瘤患者中的预后作用：荟萃分析。

背景 这项新的荟萃分析旨在系统和全面地评估预处理 PNI 在接受放疗的头颈部肿瘤 (HNN) 患者中的预后作用。方法 三个数据库，PubMed、Embase 和 Web of Science，用于检索所需的文献。通过固定效应或随机效应模型提取和汇总具有 95% 置信区间 (CI) 的风险比 (HR) 以分析 PNI 与生存结果之间的关系：总生存 (OS)、无远处转移生存 (DMFS) ) 和无进展生存期 (PFS)。结果 我们的分析包括了 10 项符合条件的研究，涉及 3,458 名 HNN 患者。合并结果的稳健性通过异质性检验（OS、DMFS 和 PFS 的 I2 分别为 22.6%、0.0% 和 0.0%）来确保。固定效应模型显示，较低的治疗前 PNI 与较差的 OS（HR = 1.974；95% CI：1.642-2.373；P<0.001）、DMFS（HR = 1.959；95% CI：1.599-2.401；P）显着相关<0.001) 和 PFS（HR = 1.498；95% CI：1.219-1.842；P<0.001）。修剪填充法（HR = 1.877；95% CI：1.361-2.589）也被用来证明现有的发表偏倚没有降低关系的可靠性。结论 治疗前 PNI 是评估和预测接受放疗的 HNN 患者长期预后生存结果的有希望的指标。95% CI: 1.361-2.589) 也被用来证明现有的发表偏倚没有降低关系的可靠性。结论 治疗前 PNI 是评估和预测接受放疗的 HNN 患者长期预后生存结果的有希望的指标。95% CI: 1.361-2.589) 也被用来证明现有的发表偏倚没有降低关系的可靠性。结论 治疗前 PNI 是评估和预测接受放疗的 HNN 患者长期预后生存结果的有希望的指标。