[Possibilities for the use of formula diets for tumor patients]

Malnutrition is a frequent problem in cancer patients. Nearly 50% of all tumor patients lose more than 10% of their pre-illness weight during the various stages of their disease. Ingestion-dependent abdominal pain in patients with gastrointestinal tumor complications is a major problem among the causes which are under discussion. Elemental diet has a safe analgetic effect in these patients because of its quick and complete resorption in proximal parts oft the jejunum. Tube feeding with elemental diets can be provided fully ambulatory and leads to a significant increase in the quality of life of cancer patients. This was demonstrated in a group of 38 malnourished cancer patients. The effect of tube feeding combined with chemotherapy was investigated in a small group of 10 patients with low Karnofsky index. The outcome was compared to the results of 9 international chemotherapy studies using the same chemotherapeutic regime without artificial feeding.