Nutritional and prognostic significance of sick euthyroid syndrome in non-small cell lung cancer patients

Objectives Our study aimed to determine the frequency of sick euthyroid syndrome (SES) among patients diagnosed as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its association with the stage of the disease, Karnofsky index (KI), and nutritional parameters. Methods We enrolled 80 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed NSCLC. Cases with NSCLC were staged by using the TNM system. The cases were examined for thyroid function tests, KI and nutritional evaluation before treatment. Moreover, cases were investigated for their overall survival ratio. Results Out of 80 patients, SES was identified in 28 (35%). SES was more frequent among stage III (26%) and stage IV (62%) cases. The body mass index (BMI), KI and serum albumin level were found to be significantly low in cases with SES when compared to cases without SES. SES was found to be negatively correlated with BMI, KI and serum albumin level, and it was positively correlated with disease stage and weight loss. Additionally, the presence of SES was found as a prognostic factor at survival analysis (p=0.0002). Conclusion SES was frequently seen in cases with NSCLC. SES can be used as a predictor of poor prognosis in NSCLC patients.