Taurine-supplemented total parenteral nutrition and taurine status of malnourished cancer patients.

The status of plasma taurine and whether its concentration can be influenced by total parenteral nutrition (TPN) was determined in 51 malnourished fasting cancer patients after surgery and 7-14 days after starting TPN providing 41 +/- 2 kcal, 0.30 +/- 0.02 g N kg-1.

Plasma carotenoid profiles in normals and patients with cancer.

Most human cancers arise in epithelial tissues, which are critically dependent on vitamin A for normal differentiation and proliferation. Dietary carotenoids consist of individual retinoids--pro-vitamin A precursors and non-pro-vitamin A precursors-displaying different biological activity. Although epidemiological data suggest that low serum vitamin A levels were associated with an increased risk of cancer, it is not known whether one specific or all vitamin A carotenoids are involved.

Observations on predicted brain influx rates of neurotransmitter precursors. Effects of tumor, operative stress with tumor removal, and postoperative TPN of varying amino acid compositions.

Effects of tumor, operative stress and tumor removal, and postoperative TPN of varying amino acid compositions on brain levels of tryptophan or tyrosine as predicted by their brain influx rates were studied in normals and in malnourished cancer patients. Concentrations of the large neutral amino acids (LNAA) were determined in patients before and after tumor removal, and in postoperative patients before and after receiving either a standard TPN solution (STD-TPN), or a branched-chain amino acid solution (BCAA-TPN). The LNAA were altered in all groups versus normals.

Aspects of amino acid and protein metabolism in cancer-bearing states.

Overt malnutrition is seen in about 40% of patients hospitalized for treatment of cancer. In patients whose primary treatment modality is surgical, morbidity and mortality is twice as high in the malnourished group as in the normally nourished patients. This clinically important malnutrition is a consequence of obligatory parasitism by the tumor, which grows at its own genetically determined rate and which competes effectively with the host for the limited available nutrients.

Effect of elemental diet on albumin and urea synthesis: comparison with partially hydrolyzed protein diet.

Enhanced nitrogen utilization occurs when adults with gastrointestinal disease are fed partially hydrolyzed proteins instead of isonitrogenous, isocaloric crystalline amino acids. A controlled trial was conducted to determine if this difference was also seen in malnourished stressed cancer patients and to gain an understanding of the underlying mechanism. Sixteen malnourished patients with head and neck cancer were prospectively randomized to either crystalline amino acid-glucose (CAA-G) or partially hydrolyzed protein-glucose (PHP-G) diets.