Miyata H et al. – Compared with PN support, Enteral nutrition (EN) support during neoadjuvant chemotherapy reduced the incidence of chemotherapy–related hematological toxicities in patients with esophageal cancers.

• Ninety-one patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, cisplatin and adriamycin) for esophageal cancer were enrolled to receive either EN (n=47) or PN (n=44) at random.
• The primary endpoint was the incidence of chemotherapy-related toxicities during chemotherapy.

• Total and dietary intake calories during chemotherapy were equal in the two groups.
• There were no significant differences in serum albumin level and body weight change after chemotherapy between the two groups.
• There was no significant difference in tumor response to chemotherapy between the two groups (EN: 51%, PN: 55%, p = 0.886).
• Leukopenia and neutropenia of grade 3 or 4, defined according to the Common Toxicities Criteria of the National Cancer Institute, were significantly less frequent in the EN group than PN group (leukopenia: 17% vs 41%, p = 0.011, neutropenia: 36% vs 66%, p = 0.005).
• Lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia tended to be less frequent in the EN group, albeit insignificantly.