CD19 (+) B Cell Combined with Prognostic Nutritional Index Predicts the Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Gastric Cancer Who Underwent Surgery

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Gastric cancer has a high degree of malignancy, and even with comprehensive surgical treatment, there is still a high probability of recurrence and metastasis. Finding accurate predictive biomarkers can screen high-risk patients and intervene in a timely manner, which is extremely important for prolonging patient survival. In addition, the value of lymphocyte subset detection in patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery still needs further exploration. This study further explored the predictive ability of lymphocyte subsets on the prognosis of gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery on a larger sample size and explored the prognostic value of CD19 (+) B cell combined with the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI). The results showed that lymphocyte subsets were related to the clinical outcome, the combined index had a stronger prognostic predictive ability than single markers and other non-invasive biomarkers, and was a powerful predictive biomarker for gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery. ABSTRACT: (1) Background: The aim of this study was to explore the predictive ability of lymphocyte subsets for the prognosis of gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery and the prognostic value of CD19 (+) B cell combined with the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI). (2) Methods: This study involved 291 patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery at our institution between January 2016 and December 2017. All patients had complete clinical data and peripheral lymphocyte subsets. Differences in clinical and pathological characteristics were examined using the Chi-square test or independent sample t-tests. The difference in survival was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier survival curves and the Log-rank test. Cox’s regression analysis was performed to identify independent prognostic indicators, and nomograms were used to predict survival probabilities. (3) Results: Patients were categorized into three groups based on their CD19 (+) B cell and PNI levels, with 56 cases in group one, 190 cases in group two, and 45 cases in group three. Patients in group one had a shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (HR = 0.444, p < 0.001) and overall survival (OS) (HR = 0.435, p < 0.001). CD19 (+) B cell–PNI had the highest area under the curve (AUC) compared with other indicators, and it was also identified as an independent prognostic factor. Moreover, CD3 (+) T cell, CD3 (+) CD8 (+) T cell, and CD3 (+) CD16 (+) CD56 (+) NK T cell were all negatively correlated with the prognosis, while CD19 (+) B cell was positively associated with the prognosis. The C-index and 95% confidence interval (CI) of nomograms for PFS and OS were 0.772 (0.752–0.833) and 0.773 (0.752–0.835), respectively. (4) Conclusions: Lymphocyte subsets including CD3 (+) T cell, CD3 (+) CD8 (+) T cell, CD3 (+) CD16 (+) CD56 (+) NK T cell, and CD19 (+) B cell were related to the clinical outcomes of patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery. Additionally, PNI combined with CD19 (+) B cell had higher prognostic value and could be used to identify patients with a high risk of metastasis and recurrence after surgery.