Total parenteral nutrition and tumor metastasis.

A major clinical concern with providing total parenteral nutrition to the tumor-bearing host is the potential to stimulate tumor growth. This study was performed to determine the effect of total parenteral nutrition on primary tumor growth and spontaneous pulmonary metastasis in Lobund rats with subcutaneous prostate adenocarcinoma (PA-III) implants. Significant acceleration of primary tumor growth and tumor metastasis occurred in animals receiving parenteral nutrition consisting of amino acids, dextrose, and lipid or standard enteral nutrition compared to control animals. This study represents the first report of stimulating tumor metastasis with specific parenteral nutrients and clearly indicates that both primary tumor growth and tumor metastasis can be altered by exogenous substrate administration.