Effects of parenteral nutrition on cell cycle kinetics of head and neck cancer
P. L. Baron, W. Lawrence Jr, W. M. Chan, F. K. White and W. L. Banks Jr
We attempted to determine whether nutritional supplementation with total
parenteral nutrition (TPN) of malnourished patients with untreated squamous
cell carcinoma of the head and neck alters tumor growth. Fourteen patients
underwent biopsies of normal and malignant tissues and were then placed in
either a control or adjuvant TPN group. Nutritional parameters and biopsies
were repeated over the ensuing three to 17 days. Biopsy specimens were
analyzed by flow cytometry for changes in the percentage of hyperdiploid
cells (PHC) and aneuploidy. The PHC of tumor biopsy specimens in patients
given TPN increased significantly from 15.1 +/- 2.0 to 27.3 +/- 3.3, while
no such change occurred in normal mucosa. The PHC after TPN was
significantly greater in the patients with cancer than that observed in the
controls. These data demonstrate that TPN may have a stimulatory effect on
tumor cell cycle kinetics in humans.
