Enteral dietary therapy has been shown to be a practical, cost-effective, physiologic, and safe modality that may abate or eliminate cancer cachexia, decrease complications from therapy and actually improve response to therapy. Several studies have failed to document the possibility of increasing tumor growth by enhancing the nutritional status of the host. 83-88 The dogma is that mature dogs and cats with a functional gastrointestinal tract that have a history of inadequate nutritional intake for 3-7 days or have lost at least 10% of their body weight over a 1-2 week period of time are candidates for enteral nutritional therapy. There is no question that this philosophy is short sighted. Nutritional intervention must begin earlier than these guidelines suggest. The key is to prevent problems before they occur.
As a general rule, mature dogs and cats with cancer with functional GI tracts that require nutritional support should have some form of enteral feeding: If the gut works, use it!!! The first step is to enhance appetite. The owner should be given a short term and long range plan for the nutritional support of their pet. This plan allows the veterinary health care team and the owner to have a sequential plan for maintaining nutritional support by first enhancing appetite, second, using tube support in appropriate cases, and third, considering more advanced measures such as total parenteral nutrition for serious problems. The first step, enhancing appetite, begins with the basics: warming the food to just below body temperature; providing a selection of palatable, aromatic foods; and providing comfortable, stress-free surroundings. When these simple procedures fail, such chemical stimulants as benzodiazepine derivatives (e.g., diazepam and oxazepam) and antiserotonin agents (cyproheptadine and pizotifen) can be used. Cyproheptadine (2-4 mg daily or twice daily PO) generally is effective in stimulating appetite in cats, as are megestrol acetate (2.5 mg daily for 4 days, then every 2-3 days thereafter). These drugs can be used concurrently for maximal stimulation of the appetite. Diazepam (0.05-0.5 mg/kg IV) is great for short term therapy in the hospital, but is often not adequate for home therapy. Dogs and cats may have improved appetite when metoclopramide is given orally to decrease nausea associated with chemotherapy or surgery. When all the aforementioned fails, enteral nutritional support via nasogastric, esophagostomy, gastrostomy or jejunostomy tube feeding, designed to deliver nutrients to the GI tract should be considered because it is practical, cost-effective, physiologic, and safe.1-4