Hyperalimentation in the undernourished cancer patient.

Serial anthropometrics, creatinine-height ratios. serum albumin levels, and elemental balances were compared for cachectic cancer and noncancer patients receiving hyperalimentation. Cancer patients compared unfavorably in all measurements except triceps skinfold increments, which were equal for both groups, suggesting that weight gain in cancer patients represented repletion of fat rather than restoration of normal lean body mass.