Total Parenteral Nutrition in the Cancer Patient

TOTAL parenteral nutrition (TPN) is a life-saving method of nutritional support for patients who are unable to ingest, digest, or absorb sufficient nutrients to prevent death from starvation. The dramatic demonstration by Dudrick et al.1 that intravenous feeding could provide the sole means of nutritional support, promote growth in a child, and restore weight loss in an adult has received appropriate acclaim. Widespread application of their technique of TPN or "hyperalimentation" has occurred. In 1970 there were 114 referenced articles on intravenous hyperalimentation; in 1979, this figure had increased 600 per cent, and over 3700 articles on intravenous hyperalimentation appeared . . .