The effect of preoperative nutritional status on postoperative complications and overall survival in patients undergoing pelvic exenteration: A multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional cohort study

Introduction: Optimization of preoperative nutritional status has been recommended and associated with improved outcomes for other oncologic procedures, but has not been studied in patients undergoing pelvic exenteration. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 199 patients was conducted. Overall survival (OS) was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate analysis was performed with Cox proportional hazards. Results: 199 patients underwent PE with 61 (31%), 78 (40%) and 58 (29%) patients having colorectal, gynecologic and urologic histological diagnoses, respectively. Median OS following PE was 25 months. Preoperative serum albumin <3.5 g/dL was associated with worsened OS (HR 1.661; 95% CI 1.052–2.624) as well as increased incidence of any postoperative complication (85.9% vs 72.3%, p = 0.034), but was not associated with 90-day mortality (11.3% vs 7.9%, p = 0.457). Conclusion: Poor preoperative nutritional status is associated with increased complications and decreased OS. Surgeons should maximize preoperative nutritional status to improve perioperative outcomes and long-term survival.