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.