Impact of Remaining Teeth Number on Prognostic Nutritional Index in Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Tumor Surgery

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

Malnutrition affects perioperative complications and long-term survival in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, and oral functional decline can reduce food intake. A reduced number of remaining teeth may contribute to malnutrition, yet the influence of preoperative oral conditions on perioperative nutritional status remains unclear. This retrospective study analyzed 178 patients receiving gastrointestinal surgery with perioperative oral management, correlating remaining teeth with prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and related biomarkers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Objectives and Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Introduction

Malnutrition and perioperative outcomes

PNI and inflammation assessment

Oral health, nutrition, and cancer prognosis

Perioperative oral management in Japan

Article Impact of Remaining Teeth Number on Prognostic Nutritional Index in Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Tumor Surgery Mitsuyoshi Yoshida 1, *, Ryoko Igashira 1, Mieko Okamoto 1, Miyuki Yokoi 1, Yoshikazu Kobayashi 1, Nanako Hase-Kawata 2, Tsuyoshi Tanaka 3 and Koichi Suda 3,4 Academic Editor: AndrasHajnal Received: 17 December 2025 Revised: 28 January 2026 Accepted: 31 January 2026 Published: 2 February 2026 Copyright: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 Department of Dentistry and Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan; [fjnyd145@yahoo.co.jp](fjnyd145@yahoo.co.jp) (R.I.); [mieko@fujita-hu.ac.jp](mieko@fujita-hu.ac.jp) (M.O.); [miyuki.yokoi@fujita-hu.ac.jp](miyuki.yokoi@fujita-hu.ac.jp) (M.Y.); [bread-t@fujita-hu.ac.jp](bread-t@fujita-hu.ac.jp) (Y.K.) 2 Department of Dentistry and Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery, Fujita Health University Hospital, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan; [nanako.kawata@fujita-hu.ac.jp](nanako.kawata@fujita-hu.ac.jp) 3 Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan; [tsuyoshi.tanaka@fujita-hu.ac.jp](tsuyoshi.tanaka@fujita-hu.ac.jp) (T.T.); [ko-suda@nifty.com](ko-suda@nifty.com) (K.S.) 4 Collaborative Laboratory for Research and Development in Advanced Surgical Technology, Fujita Health University, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan * [Correspondence: mitsuyoshi.yoshida@fujita-hu.ac.jp](Correspondence: mitsuyoshi.yoshida@fujita-hu.ac.jp); Tel.: +81-562-93-9098 Abstract Objectives: Malnutrition can influence perioperative complications and long-term survival in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Oral functional decline is associated with decreased food intake, and a reduced number of remaining teeth contributes to malnutrition. However, the impact of preoperative oral conditions on perioperative nutritional status remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between the number of remaining teeth and the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal malignancies. Methods: In total, 178 patients who underwent gastrointestinal surgery with perioperative oral management at our hospital between January and December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Data, including age, sex, tumor site, number of remaining teeth, blood test results, skeletal muscle index, and body mass index (BMI), were extracted from electronic medical records. The PNI and CRP–albumin ratio (CAR) were calculated. Correlations between the number of remaining teeth and nutritional indicators were examined. Results: The number of remaining teeth showed a significant correlation with the PNI in the upper gastrointestinal group (r = 0.336, p = 0.015) and with BMI in the hepatobiliary-pancreatic group (r = −0.519, p = 0.001), after adjusting forage using partial correlation analysis. No significant correlations were observed in the lower GI group. Conclusions: Among patients with upper GI cancer, a lower number of remaining teeth was associated with a lower PNI, influencing postoperative outcomes. Impaired oral function may affect the prognosis of patients with upper GI tumors, emphasizing the need for careful, comprehensive nutritional and oral management as part of perioperative support. Keywords: number of teeth prognostic nutritional index; gastrointestinal cancers 1. Introduction Malnutrition in patients with gastric or colorectal cancer influences the development of postoperative complications, as well as short-and long-term survival outcomes [1,2] . According to the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism guidelines, a decrease in food intake delays discharge by approximately 1 day, and the odds ratio for inhospital death within 30 days increases with decreasing food intake [3] .

FAQs

What is the main question of this study?

Whether the number of remaining teeth is associated with the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal malignancies.

How was the study conducted?

A retrospective analysis of 178 patients who underwent gastrointestinal surgery with perioperative oral management, using electronic medical records and calculating PNI (and CRP–albumin ratio).

What did the results show for different GI groups?

In the upper GI group, remaining teeth number correlated significantly with PNI, while in the hepatobiliary-pancreatic group it correlated with BMI; no significant correlations were observed in the lower GI group.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Noah