Specialized nutritional support in the cancer patient: Is it worthwhile?

Over a 7 year period, 85 cancer patients were managed by the nutrition service of St. Joseph's Hospital, Toronto. All these patients were nutritionally depleted, had obstruction to the gastrointestinal tract, or had postoperative complications such as enterocutaneous fistulas, evisceration or intraabdominal sepsis, which left total parenteral nutrition (TPN) as the only means of achieving positive nitrogen balance. A prospective study started …