Abbreviated preoperative fasting favours postoperative oral intake at lower hospital admission costs for cancer patients.

Objective: to evaluate the feasibility of abbreviated fasting in oncologic colorectal surgeries, as well as the impact on the surgical outcome of the patients.

Methods: prospective randomized comparative study with patients undergoing elective colorectal cancer surgeries from May to September 2017. Patients were randomized electronically into two groups according to the preoperative fast to be adopted: conventional or abbreviated.