Purpose

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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 (N = 46) was 20.3 months while for SGA B/C (N = 52) was 9.8 months (p = 0.03). At 3 months, the median survival for SGA A (N = 63) was 19.9 months while for SGA B/C (N = 35) was 3.7 months (p < 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.

Conclusions

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.