[Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in oncology (author's transl)]

The role of TPN in oncology is, in spite of favourable reports, not yet settled. Selected undernourished cancer patients are certainly helped by parenteral nutrition during their course of therapy. Their nutritional status becomes better, their endurance to antineoplastic therapy is enhanced with less complications and more important, their "quality of life" is improved. However, the survival time of the patient is not prolonged. Well designed prospective randomised clinical studies will provide a better insight into this problem. The anorexia of cancer patients might be caused by tumor-induced alterations in the metabolism of the host which might be medically altered by serotonin-antagonists.