Nutrients-Rich Food Index Scores and the Overall Survival of Ovarian Cancer Patients: Results from the Ovarian Cancer Follow-Up Study, a Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: The nutrients-rich food (NRF) index provides a score of diet quality. Although high diet quality is associated with survival of ovarian cancer (OC), the associations between NRF index scores and OC survival remain unevaluated. Methods: The prospective cohort study enrolled 703 women with newly diagnosed epithelial OC to assess the correlations between NRF index scores and overall survival (OS) in OC patients. Dietary consumption was evaluated through a food frequency questionnaire and diet quality was calculated based on NRF index scores, including three limited nutrients and six (NRF6.3), nine (NRF9.3), or eleven (NRF11.3) benefit nutrients. All-cause deaths were ascertained through medical records combined with active follow-up. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses were conducted to evaluate the expression of IHC indicators (including Estrogen Receptor, Progesterone Receptor, p53, Vimentin, and Wilms’ tumor 1), which were identified by two independent pathologists. The Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied for estimating the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Moreover, we performed the penalized cubic splines model to assess the curvilinear associations of NRF index scores with OC survival. Results: During the median follow-up of 37.17 (interquartile: 24.73–50.17) months, 130 deaths were documented. Compared to the lowest tertiles, the highest tertile of index scores [NRF9.3 (HR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.41–0.95), NRF6.3 (HR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.39–0.89), and NRF11.3 (HR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.38–0.87)] were correlated to better OS, showing an obvious linear trend (all p trend < 0.05). Interestingly, the curvilinear association between the NRF6.3 index score and OC survival was also observed (p non-linear < 0.05). Subgroup analyses, stratified by clinical, demographic, and IHC features, showed similar risk associations as the unstratified results. Furthermore, there were significant multiplicative interactions between NRF index scores and Progestogen Receptors as well as Wilms’ tumor 1 expressions (all p interaction < 0.05). Conclusions: Higher NRF index scores were associated with an improved OS in OC patients.