Role of feeding procedures in upper gastro-intestinal malignancy patients undergoing radiotherapy

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition in cancer patients can limit their response to treatment, surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Oral supplementation is not feasible in patients with cancers of oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, oesophagus and oesophagogastric junction (OG junction) who undergo radiotherapy or chemotherapy or in the palliative setting due to the growth itself. To compare open feeding gastrostomy with feeding jejunostomy in terms of improvement in the nutritional status of the cancer patient.Methods: This prospective comparative study was done in patients with gastro-intestinal malignancies who underwent feeding gastrostomy and jejunostomy before radiotherapy were studied.Results: In 26 patients, 8 patients underwent FG and 18 patients FJ procedure. There was no statistical difference in the increase or decrease in BMI between the two arms. There was an increase in serum albumin level following the feeding procedures both FG and FJ. 71.4% of patients in the FJ arm expressed a feeling of satiety at three months compared to FG arm where only 28.6% of patients were satisfied.Conclusions: In our study, patients in both FG and FJ arms were able to maintain the BMI and serum albumin levels so as to complete radiotherapy. Feeding jejunostomy as enteral nutrition access still plays a role in developing countries with limited resources to enable these patients to complete the planned treatment.