Impact of improved nutritional status on survival in ovarian cancer

Malnutrition is a common occurrence in ovarian cancer and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the impact of improvement in nutritional status on ovarian cancer survival. A retrospective chart review was performed on a case series of 98 ovarian cancer patients. Subjective global assessment (SGA) was used to evaluate nutritional status. Patients were classified as well-nourished (SGA A) or moderately-severely malnourished (SGA B/C). Patients were classified into four groups: (1) well-nourished at baseline and 3 months, (2) malnourished at baseline, well-nourished at 3 months, (3) malnourished at baseline and 3 months, (4) well-nourished at baseline, malnourished at 3 months. Of 98 patients, 20 were newly diagnosed while 78 had received prior treatment. The median age at presentation was 55.3 years. At baseline, the median survival for SGA A (NaEuro dagger=aEuro dagger 46) was 20.3 months while for SGA B/C (NaEuro dagger=aEuro dagger 52) was 9.8 months (paEuro dagger=aEuro dagger 0.03). At 3 months, the median survival for SGA A (NaEuro dagger=aEuro dagger 63) was 19.9 months while for SGA B/C (NaEuro dagger=aEuro dagger 35) was 3.7 months (paEuro dagger < aEuro dagger 0.001). Patients with an improved nutritional status at 3 months had a significantly better survival than those with deteriorated nutritional status independent of age, stage at diagnosis, prior treatment history, and tumor response as determined by CA125. Improvement in nutritional status is associated with better survival. Consequently, our findings lend support to the importance of aggressive nutritional intervention in improving patient outcomes in oncology.