Supplemental home parenteral nutrition improved nutrition status with comparable quality of life in malnourished unresectable/metastatic gastric cancer receiving salvage chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Even with significant advances in surgical techniques and treatment, salvage chemotherapy remains the major treatment strategy for patients with unresectable or metastatic gastric cancer (GC). Practical and technical advances have simplified safe and convenient use of supplemental home parenteral nutrition (HPN). We aimed to clarify the role of HPN in patients with incurable GC undergoing salvage chemotherapy. METHODS: We enrolled 25 patients with GC with a nutritional risk index (NRI) of ≦ 97.5 undergoing HPN. Their nutritional status, laboratory data, and quality of life (QoL) were analyzed using the Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire-C30 before and after HPN administration at 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 months. We enrolled 25 patients with an NRI of > 97.5 not undergoing HPN as the control group. RESULTS: Total protein (P = 0.008), prealbumin (P < 0.001), and total cholesterol (P = 0.023) levels improved significantly after 0.5 months of HPN administration. The study group also demonstrated a marked improvement in nitrogen balance (P = 0.004) and prealbumin levels (P < 0.012) after 1 month. Gains in body weight after 1 month and body mass index after 2 months of HPN administration remained comparable with those of the control group. Global QoL scores were maintained and comparable with those of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Supplemental HPN therapy for malnourished patients with unresectable or metastatic GC undergoing salvage chemotherapy is feasible and revealed marked improvement in nutritional status. Early HPN intervention should be considered an important part of palliative treatment for advanced GC.

Short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic-assisted surgery, mini-laparotomy and conventional laparotomy in patients with Stage I-III colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Three operative techniques have been used for colorectal cancer (CRC) resection: Conventional laparotomy (CL) and the mini-invasive techniques (MITs)- laparoscopic-assisted surgery (LAS) and mini-laparotomy (ML). The aim of the study was to compare the short- and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing the three surgical approaches for Stage I-III CRC resection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study enrolled 688 patients with Stage I-III CRC undergoing curative resection. The primary endpoints were perioperative quality and outcomes. The secondary endpoints were oncological outcomes including disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS) and local recurrence (LR). RESULTS: Patients undergoing LAS had significantly less blood loss (P < 0.001), earlier first flatus (P = 0.002) and earlier resumption of normal diet (P = 0.025). Although post-operative complication rates were remarkably higher in patients undergoing CL than in those undergoing MITs (P = 0.002), no difference was observed in the post-operative mortality rate (P = 0.099) or 60-day re-intervention rate (P = 0.062). The quality of operation as assessed by the number of lymph nodes harvested and rates of R0 resection did not differ among the groups (all P > 0.05). During a median follow-up of 5.42 years, no significant difference was observed among the treatment groups in the rates of 3-year late morbidity, 3-year LR, 5-year LR, 5-year OS or 5-year DFS (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing CL had higher post-operative morbidities. Moreover, the study findings confirm the favourable short-term and comparable long-term outcomes of LAS and ML for curative CRC resection. Therefore, both MITs may be feasible and safe alternatives to CL for Stage I-III CRC resection.

Prospective double-blind randomized study on the efficacy and safety of an n-3 fatty acid enriched intravenous fat emulsion in postsurgical gastric and colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: A lipid emulsion composed of soybean oil (long-chain triglycerides, LCT), medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) and n-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was evaluated for immune-modulation efficacy, safety, and tolerance in patients undergoing major surgery for gastric and colorectal cancer. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study, 99 patients with gastric and colorectal cancer receiving elective surgery were recruited and randomly assigned to either the study group, receiving the n-3 PUFAs enriched intravenous fat emulsion (IVFE), or the control group, receiving a lipid emulsion comprised of soybean oil and MCTs (0.8 - 1.5 g · kg-1 · day-1) as part of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) regimen from surgery (day -1) up to post-operative day 7. Safety and efficacy parameters were assessed on day -1 and post-operative visits on day 1, 3, and 7. Adverse events were documented daily and compared between the groups. RESULTS: Pro-inflammatory markers, laboratory parameters, and adverse events did not differ prominently between the 2 groups, with the exception of net changes (day 7 minus day -1) of free fatty acids (FFAs), triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Net decrease of FFAs was remarkably higher in the study group, while the net increase of triglyceride and decrease of HDL was significantly lower. CONCLUSIONS: The n-3 PUFA-enriched IVFE showed improvements in lipid metabolism. In respect of efficacy, safety and tolerance both IVFE were comparable. In patients with severe stress, there is an inflammation-attenuating effect of n-3 PUFAs. Further, adequately powered clinical trials will be necessary to address this question in postsurgical GI cancer patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: US ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00798447.

Clinical characteristics of second primary cancer in colorectal cancer patients: the impact of colorectal cancer or other second cancer occurring first.

BACKGROUND: Due to improvements in early detection, treatment, and supportive care, the number of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors is increasing; therefore, careful attention should always be paid to the second primary cancer (SPC) in treating these CRC patients. The present study attempts to determine the correlation and clinical aspects of CRC to other cancers in patients suffering from SPC involving CRC. METHODS: From January 2002 and June 2010, 1,679 cancer cases, CRC was accompanied by SPC in 89 patients (5.3%), including 16 (18%) synchronous and 73 (82%) metachronous SPC patients. These patients were subsequently classified into two groups: the first group had CRC diagnosed first as CRC first (CRCF); and the second group had another type of cancer diagnosed before the diagnosis of CRC as other cancer first (OCF). Of these 73 patients, 22 (30.1%) were in the group of CRCF, whereas 51 (69.9%) were in the group of OCF. Patients' clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcomes were analyzed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the sites of cancers between the two groups: 14 (27.5%) patients in the OCF group had gastric cancer, compared to one (4.5%) patient in the CRCF group (P = 0.026). Although there was no difference of hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers between the OCF and CRCF groups (P = 0.165), there were six (27.3%) CRC patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the CRCF group, which was significantly higher than the two (3.9%) patients in the OCF group (P = 0.003). Furthermore, the cancer-specific survival rate of the CRCF patient group was significantly higher than that of the OCF patient group (P = 0.036). CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective analysis, gastric cancer patients compared to other secondary cancers were at a higher risk of developing subsequent CRC as SPC; alternatively, patients with CRC were at a higher risk of developing HCC as SPC subsequently, no matter whether patients were HBV or HCV carriers. Therefore, careful attention should always be paid to the possibility of secondary CRC to construct effective surveillance when treating cancer patients.

High preoperative ratio of blood urea nitrogen to creatinine increased mortality in gastrointestinal cancer patients who developed postoperative enteric fistulas.

Development of an enteric fistula after surgery is a major therapeutic complication. In this study, we retrospectively examined the potential relationship between preoperative laboratory data and patient mortality by collecting patient data from a tertiary medical center. We included patients who developed enteric fistulas after surgery for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer between January 2005 and December 2010. Patient demographics and data on preoperative and pre-parenteral nutritional statuses were compared between surviving and deceased patients. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine the predictors and cut-off values, respectively. Patients with incomplete data and preoperative heart, lung, kidney, and liver diseases were excluded from the study; thus, out of 65 patients, 43 were enrolled. Logistic regression analysis showed that blood urea nitrogen-to-creatinine (BUN/Cr) ratio [p = 0.007; OR = 0.443, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.245-0.802] was an independent predictor of mortality in patients who developed enteric fistulas after surgery for GI cancer. In conclusion, the results of our study showed that a high preoperative BUN/Cr ratio increases the risk of mortality in patients who develop enteric fistulas after surgery for GI cancer.

The impact on clinical outcome of high prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Taiwanese patients with colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Both colorectal cancer (CRC) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are important public health problems worldwide. As there are controversies about survival impact on CRC patients with preexisting DM, the purpose of the present study is to evaluate the incidence and the survival impact of preexisting DM on the long-term outcomes of patients with CRC in Taiwan. METHODS: From January 2002 to December 2008, 1,197 consecutive patients with histologically proven primary CRC, who received surgical treatment at a single institution, were enrolled. The clinicopathologic features between these patients with and without DM were retrospectively investigated. Moreover, we intended to analyze the impact of DM on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates. RESULTS: Of 1,197 CRC patients, 23.6% of patients had either a reported history of DM or were currently taking one or more diabetes-controlling medications. CRC patients with DM were significantly older than those without DM (P <0.001), and had a higher incidence of cardiac disease and higher body mass index than those without DM (both P<0.001). There were no significant differences in gender, tumor size, tumor location, histological type, AJCC/UICC cancer stage, vascular invasion, perineural invasion, comorbidity of pulmonary disease or renal disease, and OS, and CSS between two groups. Additionally, DM patients had a higher incidence of second malignancy than patients without DM (9.54% vs 6.01%, P=0.040). CONCLUSIONS: A considerably high prevalence of DM in CRC patients but no significant impact of DM on survival was observed in the single-institution retrospective study, regardless of cancer stages and tumor locations. Therefore, treatment strategies for CRC patients with DM should be the same as patients without DM.

A double-blind randomized study comparing the efficacy and safety of a composite vs a conventional intravenous fat emulsion in postsurgical gastrointestinal tumor patients.

BACKGROUND: Composite intravenous fat emulsion, a fat emulsion composed of soybean oil, medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), olive oil, and fish oil, was evaluated for metabolic efficacy, immune modulation, clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerance in surgical gastrointestinal (GI) tumor patients. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study, 40 patients were randomized after elective digestive surgery to receive isonitrogenous, isoenergetic parenteral nutrition for 5 days postoperatively with either composite 20% IVFE (composed of soybean, MCT, olive, and fish oils) or a conventional long-chain triglyceride (LCT)/MCT 20% IVFE (LCT/MCT IVFE); IVFE was dosed at 1-2 g/kg body weight. Safety and efficacy parameters were assessed on operation day (day 0) and at the end of study (day 6). Adverse events were documented daily and clinical outcomes were recorded and compared between the groups. RESULTS: Metabolic parameters, laboratory parameters, proinflammatory cytokine levels, adverse events, and clinical outcomes did not differ between the 2 groups, with the exception that postoperative low-density lipoprotein levels decreased significantly in the composite IVFE group (93.2 ± 24.3 vs 110.5 ± 26.4 mg/dL, P = .038). CONCLUSIONS: composite IVFE was comparable with conventional LCT/MCT IVFE in efficacy, safety, tolerance, and clinical outcomes in surgical GI tumor patients.

Comparison of mini laparotomy with conventional laparotomy as the surgical approach in stage I-III CRC patients: appealing outcomes.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Mini laparotomy is technical for the resection of colorectal cancer (CRC) in selected patients. The aim was to compare clinical outcomes of mini laparotomy with conventional laparotomy in CRC patients. METHODOLOGY: Between january 2007 and june 2010, 138 patients and 117 patients underwent elective resection using either mini laparotomy or conventional laparotomy respectively. Mini laparotomy involved a colorectal resection performed through a skin incision ≤8 cm in length. Clinicopathological factors, operative procedure and postoperative course were retrospectively analyzed to compare clinical outcomes between the two groups. RESULTS: Mini laparotomy seems to be an attractive alternative for resection of CRC in selected patients. Clinicopathological and histopathological features were similar between both groups, whereas intraoperative blood loss, operative time and harvested lymph-node numbers in conventional laparotomy were significantly greater (p=0.003, p=0.008 and p=0.024, respectively). Postoperative relapse, complications and hospitalization were significantly better in the mini laparotomy (all p<0.001). In comparison of postoperative complications between convention and mini laparotomy, ileus was more frequently encountered in conventional group (p=0.001). Interestingly, the disease-free survival and overall survival in mini laparotomy group were significantly better than control group (p=0.001 and p=0.017, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to conventional laparotomy, mini laparotomy seems a feasible, minimally invasive and attractive alternative in selected patients.

The inflammatory modulation effect of glutamine-enriched total parenteral nutrition in postoperative gastrointestinal cancer patients.

The objective of this study is to explore the inflammatory modulation effect of glutamine-enriched total parenteral nutrition (TPN) by investigating the alterations of inflammation-related cytokines in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients postoperatively. Fifty GI cancer patients received postoperative 7 days of isocaloric and isonitrogenous TPN after operation. They were randomly divided to receive either glutamine-enriched TPN or standard TPN. The inflammation-related cytokines including interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α were also determined. Records of nutritional assessments, inflammatory status, and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Of 50 enrolled patients, 25 patients were classified as the intervention group, and the control group also comprised 25 patients. The differences of gender, age, primary GI malignancies, and hematological and biochemical data between the two compared groups were not statistically significant (all P > 0.05). Compared with standard TPN, a higher serum prealbumin level and better nitrogen balance were observed in glutamine-enriched TPN (P = 0.039 and 0.048 respectively). A significantly lower serum interleukin-6 level was found in comparing glutamine-enriched with standard TPN (P = 0.01), but not in interleukin-10 (P = 0.374) and tumor necrosis factor-α levels (P = 0.653). Moreover, a significant lower serum C-reactive protein level was detected in glutamine-enriched TPN compared with standard TPN (P = 0.013). Indeed, four cases of postoperative infectious complications were noted in the control group, but no postoperative infectious complications were observed in the interventional group (P = 0.037). Our present study shows that glutamine-enriched TPN may be beneficial in improving the inflammatory status and decreasing the infectious morbidity in postoperative GI cancer patients.

Risk factors for the development of metachronous liver metastasis in colorectal cancer patients after curative resection.

BACKGROUND: Metachronous liver metastasis (MLM) occurs in 20-40% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients following surgical treatment. The aim of the present study was to determine the risk factors affecting the development of MLM in CRC patients following curative resection. METHODS: A total of 1,356 patients who underwent curative intent resection for CRC were retrospectively studied. Of these patients, those who with 30 days postoperative mortality (n=23), incomplete medical record (n=32), synchronous liver metastasis (n=148) and UICC stage IV (n=54) were excluded, and finally 1,099 patients were analyzed, including 977 patients without liver metastasis and 122 patients with MLM-only. Clinical and pathological records for each patient were reviewed from medical charts. The clinicopathologic characteristics of 1,099 patients were investigated. RESULTS: The median timing of developing MLM was 13 months with a range of 4 to 79 months. Univariate analysis identified that preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level, depth of invasion, lymph nodes metastasis, vascular invasion, and perineural invasion were significantly correlated with the development of MLM (all P<0.05). Meanwhile, a multivariate analysis showed that preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level>5 ng/ml (Odds Ratio [OR]=1.591; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.065-2.377; P=0.024), tumor depth (OR=2.294; 95% CI, 1.103-4.768; P=0.026), positive lymph node metastasis (OR=2.004; 95% CI, 1.324-3.031; P=0.001) and positive vascular invasion (OR=1.872; 95% CI, 1.225-2.861; P=0.004) were independent prognostic factors contributing to the occurrence of MLM. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that preoperative serum CEA level, tumor depth, lymph node metastasis, and positive vascular invasion could affect the occurrence of MLM in CRC patients following curative resection, and thus could help to define these high-risk patients who would benefit from enhanced surveillance and therapeutic program(s).

Hypocaloric peripheral parenteral nutrition with lipid emulsion in postoperative gastrointestinal cancer patients.

AIM: To investigate the use of lipid emulsion substituting for glucose in postoperative hypocaloric peripheral parenteral nutrition (HPPN). METHODS: This prospective, randomized study was conducted on 20 postoperative gastrointestinal cancer patients. They were randomized and equally divided into interventional group and control group, and both were administered isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets with for lipid emulsion substituting for partial glucose loads in the interventional group. RESULTS: Nutritional parameters and biochemical data were compared between the two groups before and after 6-d of HPPN. Most investigated variables showed no significant changes after administration of HPPN with lipid emulsion. However, the postoperative triglyceride level was significantly lower in the interventional group than in the control group (P < 0.05). In comparison with lipid emulsion, glucose administration resulted in less decrease in postoperative prealbumin level (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In addition to supplementing with essential fatty acid, it seems that HPPN with lipid emulsion is well-tolerated and beneficial to postoperative gastrointestinal cancer patients.

Preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen, albumin and age are supplementary to UICC staging systems in predicting survival for colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgical treatment.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine influence of prognostic factors in addition to UICC staging systems, on cancer-specific and overall survival rates for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) undergoing surgical treatment. METHODS: Between January 1996 and December 2006, a total of 1367 CRC patients who underwent surgical treatment in Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital were analyzed. We retrospectively investigated clinicopathologic features of these patients. All patients were followed up intensively, and their outcomes were investigated completely. RESULTS: Of 1367 CRC patients, there were seven hundred and fifty-seven males (55.4%) and 610 (44.6%) females. The median follow-up period was 60 months (range, 3-132 months). A multivariate analysis identified that low serum albumin level (P = 0.011), advanced UICC stage (P < 0.001), and high carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level (P < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors of cancer-specific survival. Meanwhile, a multivariate analysis showed age over 65 years (P < 0.001), advanced UICC stage (P < 0.001), and high CEA level (P < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors of overall survival. Furthermore, combination of UICC stage, serum CEA and albumin levels as predictors of cancer-specific survival showed that the poorer the prognostic factors involved, the poorer the cancer-specific survival rate. Likewise, combination of UICC stage, age and serum CEA level as predictors of overall survival showed that the poorer the prognostic factors involved, the poorer the overall survival rate. Of these prognostic factors, preoperative serum CEA level was the only significant prognostic factor for patients with stage II and III CRCs in both cancer-specific and overall survival categories. CONCLUSION: Preoperative serum albumin level, CEA level and age could prominently affect postoperative outcome of CRC patients undergoing surgical treatment. In addition to conventional UICC staging system, it might be imperative to take these additional characteristics of factors into account in CRC patients prior to surgical treatment.

Randomized, controlled study of branched chain amino acid-enriched total parenteral nutrition in malnourished patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing surgery.

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential benefit of branched chain amino acid (BCAA)-enriched total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for malnourished surgical patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Sixty-four malnourished patients with gastrointestinal cancer with elective surgical intervention were equally allocated into two groups to receive isonitrogenous and isocaloric TPN. All of them must have received TPN soon after surgery and were subsequently randomized and divided into either BCAA-enriched TPN (30% BCAA; intervention group) or standard TPN (24% BCAA; control group). Patient biochemical data, nutritional parameters, and clinical outcome were collected to analyze the significance of BCAA-enriched TPN. After a period of TPN, laboratory data, including white blood cell (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), alkaline phosphatase (ALK-P), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (gamma-GT) levels, were significantly different between these two groups (all P < 0.05). Decreasing white blood cell and C-reactive protein levels were observed in the intervention group that might partially explain the reduced numbers of infectious complications. Furthermore, elevating alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyltransferase levels being also less prominent might indicate a lesser hepatic burden by using BCAA-enriched TPN. The BCAA-enriched TPN can maintain a patient's serum visceral protein (albumin and prealbumin) and positive nitrogen balance better than standard TPN (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, a prominently decreased frequency of postoperative morbidity was also found in the BCAA-enriched TPN group (P = 0.021) despite no difference regarding surgical mortality. Our observations show that BCAA-enriched TPN may be beneficial in improving the nutritional status and reducing postoperative complications for malnourished patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing major surgery.

Serum albumin level in the management of postoperative enteric fistula for gastrointestinal cancer patients.

Postoperative enteric fistula is a serious complication and cause of death following gastrointestinal (GI)-tract surgery. Many reports have demonstrated the effectiveness of parenteral nutrition in the spontaneous closure of enteric fistula. Our study was aimed at analyzing the prognostic factors of parenteral nutritional support in the treatment of enteric fistula for patients with GI-tract cancer following surgery. GI-tract cancer patients receiving surgical interventions, which then unfortunately developed enteric fistula, were included in our study. All of them had to have received parenteral nutrition soon after leakages were recognized, and they were subsequently divided into successful and unsuccessful (classified as "failure") groups according to spontaneous closure of fistula or not, respectively. The studied patients' laboratory data were collected to identify the clinically relevant prognostic factors. Fifty-three primary GI-tract cancer patients with postoperative enteric fistulas were enrolled into our study. Of these, 33 patients were considered as successful parenteral nutritional therapy (successful group) and the other 20 patients (failure group) were not. After a period of parenteral nutritional therapy, serum total bilirubin, creatinine, C-reactive protein (CRP), hemoglobin, and albumin were significantly different between these two groups (all p < .05). Using a multivariate logistic regression analysis, it was determined that increased serum albumin level was an independent predictive factor of successful management for enteric fistula (p = .029), in addition to the well-known lower drainage amount (< 500 mL/day) from the enteric fistula (p = .013). Our observations show that both serum albumin levels and drainage amounts from the enteric fistula can be potentially used as important prognostic predictors of healing enteric fistula under total parenteral nutrition in patients following surgery for GI-tract malignancies.

Randomized controlled study of glycerol versus dextrose in postoperative hypocaloric peripheral parenteral nutrition.

The aim of this study was to use glycerol and dextrose in hypocaloric peripheral parenteral nutrition (HPNN) and investigate their effects on postoperative metabolic and nutritional responses. Thirty patients who had undergone major gastrointestinal surgery were examined in a prospective randomized study. The study period extended from the day before operation to postoperative day 7. Fifteen patients (intervention group) received 1.2 g amino acids, 1.2 g glycerol, and 0.5 g fat emulsion/kg/day (approximately 15 kcal/kg/day). The other 15 patients (control group) received 1.2 g amino acids, 1.5 g dextrose, and 0.5 g fat emulsion/kg/day (approximately 15 kcal/kg/day). After 7 days of study, both groups were found to have a decrease in body weight, mid-arm circumference, triceps skin fold, serum albumin, and transferrin and prealbumin levels, but an increase in serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. However, the differences between them were not significant. Improvements in nitrogen balance were observed in the intervention group (p = .035). These data suggest that advantages favoring the administration of glycerol instead of dextrose in hypocaloric parenteral nutrition could hardly be found in our investigation, except that better nitrogen equilibrium is maintained. Nonetheless, the peripheral intravenously administered ProcalAmine with fat emulsion has been well tolerated and safe for these patients, as well as more convenient for clinical use.

Efficacy of medium-chain triglycerides compared with long-chain triglycerides in total parenteral nutrition in patients with digestive tract cancer undergoing surgery.

The objectives of this prospective, randomized study were to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of the short-term use of medium-chain triglyceride/long-chain triglyceride (MCT/LCT) fat emulsions, and to compare the hematologic and biochemical effects of MCT/LCT fat emulsions with LCT fat emulsions in gastrointestinal (GI) tract cancer patients following surgery. Thirty patients with GI tract cancer requiring total parenteral nutrition (TPN) were equally randomized to receive MCT/LCT or LCT emulsions for 7 days. After 7 days, no sign of complications directly related to administration of fat emulsions was observed and there were no marked differences in anthropometry, length of hospital stay, and surgical complication rates between the two groups. However, MCT/LCT significantly improved plasma prealbumin concentration (p = 0.005). Changes in complements C3 and C4, total lymphocyte count, and immunoglobulins after TPN were not significantly different between the groups. Serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels remained constant. The serum insulin level in the MCT/LCT group was higher than in the LCT group (p = 0.048). Our data revealed that MCT/LCT fat emulsions significantly enhanced nutritional status in patients with GI tract cancer, indicated by higher prealbumin levels, which might be partially due to the higher circulating insulin levels in the MCT/LCT group.