Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) is a common problem associated with advanced malignancies of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Adverse events, such as malnutrition, can affect the quality of life, and gastrojejunostomy can be performed for palliative care. This study evaluated effects of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) therapy in post-operation state patients who underwent a palliative gastrojejunostomy (PGJ).
Between January 2011 and June 2015, a total of 65 patients underwent PGJ at Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital and all consecutive patients were included in this retrospective study. All patients were divided into the preoperative TPN group and non-TPN group. A nutritional status assessment included the body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), CRP level, serum albumin, serum total protein, hemoglobin, and total lymphocyte count (TLC).
Thirty-one patients did not receive the TPN treatment, and 34 patients received the TPN treatment before surgery. Significant differences between preoperative and postoperative BW, BMI, CRP level, serum albumin, serum total protein, hemoglobin, and TLC were observed in the non-TPN group. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between the preoperative BW, BMI, TLC and postoperative BW, BMI, TLC in the TPN group (p=0.914, p=0.873, p=0.319).
These results suggest that preoperative TPN therapy can improve the nutritional status in patients who underwent PGJ.
Cancer-associated malnutrition is common in gastric cancer patients and affects their response to treatment. This study evaluated pre-operative and pre-chemotherapy nutritional status-related indices associated with compliance in post-operation state gastric cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.
We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients with gastric cancer undergoing curative D2 resection between August 2014 and July 2016. A total of 51 patients who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy with a regimen of capecitabine and oxaliplatin (XELOX) were screened. Nutritional status assessment included body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, serum total protein, hemoglobin, and total lymphocyte count (TLC).
Twenty-six patients had stage II gastric cancer, and 25 patients had stage Ⅲ gastric cancer according to the guidelines of the American Joint Committee on Cancer. Eighty-two percent of patients completed their chemotherapy according to the therapy protocol. However, 49% of patients were subjected to drug dose reduction, and 18% of patients needed to cease therapy. We found that pre-chemotherapy serum albumin level was significantly associated with completion of chemotherapy (P=0.043), and there was no significant relationship of BW, BMI, serum total protein, hemoglobin, and TLC with compliance of chemotherapy.
Our study results suggest that patients with a low serum albumin level are highly susceptible to discontinuation of chemotherapy. Thus, serum albumin concentration could be used as a predictor of successful completion of chemotherapy before starting treatment.