Tube feeding in the elderly cancer patient

In elderly cancer patients tube feeding, via a nasogastric tube or a (percutaneous) gastrostomy may be an efficient way of nutritionally supporting patients with extreme anorexia or dysphagia caused by a head&neck tumor or with an oro-pharyngeal-esophageal mucositis due to radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. There is no definite difference, with regard to the clinical benefit, between nasogastric and gastrostomy feeding. Both procedures achieve good results in allowing the proper completion of the oncologic therapy. Whether to use a nasogastric tube or a (percutaneous) gastrostomy and whether to perform the procedure prophylactically or a la demande is a matter of controversy and depends more on the policy of the single institution and preferences of the patients than on evidence-based results.