A prospective randomized study of adjuvant parenteral nutrition in the treatment of advanced diffuse lymphoma: influence on survival
Popp, M.B.; Fisher, R.I.; Wesley, R.; Aamodt, R.; Brennan, M.F.
Surgery 90(2): 195-203
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0039-6060 PMID: 6789483 Document Number: 174449
The efficacy of adjuvant parenteral nutrition (PN) was studied in 21 of 42 patients with advanced diffuse lymphoma randomly selected to receive PN during an aggressive programme of multiple-drug treatment. These patients received 56 courses of central venous PN support during the first 14 days of the 28-day cycles of early and late phases of chemotherapy. PN patients received on average 2216 kcal daily and their oral intake was 836 kcal daily during treatment. PN patients showed weight gains and standard nutrition (SN) patients had stable weights during cycles of treatment and during the entire course of treatment. Lean body mass, as indicated by total body potassium, anthropomorphic measurements, serum albumin, creatinine-to-height ratio, total iron-binding capacity and total lymphocyte count, were no better in PN than in SN patients. PN was complicated by symptomatic subclavian vein thromboses, septic catheters and pneumothoraxes. The actuarial survival rate at 2 years was 68.8% plus or minus 10.9% (estimate plus or minus s.d.) for PN and 65.8% plus or minus 12.2% for SN patients. The results suggest that the weight gained by PN patients was composed of fat, water, or both.