Abstract

Nutritional support at the end of life for cancer patients is a controversial issue for a variety of reasons. The benefits of survival are weighed against, procedure related complications in this review. Journal articles describing the nutritional support provided to terminal cancer patients were identified in a database. For each study design, the indication, number of enrolled patients, and the results of the relevant articles were interpreted, considering statistical and clinical significance. A subgroup of terminal cancer patients who may have potential benefit from nutritional support were selected. Suggested nutritional guidelines from several institution and organizations were also reviewed. Nutritional support for patients with gastrointestinal cancer and estimated prognosis more than several weeks provided survival benefits. Complication rates associated with gastrostomy or parenteral catheters are considerably higher and include hastened mortality. Benefits associated with providing nutritional support for patients are indicated in cases of gastrointestinal obstruction, expected survival more than 1 month, and good general performance. Even with the limited information available, it appears nutritional support for selected terminal cancer patients may be beneficial, and guideline based intervention minimizes procedure related problems. (SMN 2011;2:35-38)

• Keywords: Nutritional support, Terminal cancer patient