A randomized controlled trial comparing antioxidant-enriched enteral nutrition with immune-enhancing enteral nutrition after esophagectomy for cancer: a pilot study

Purpose The objective of this study was to compare the effects of two types of enteral supplements, an antioxidant-enriched enteral nutrition (AeEN) and an immune-enhancing enteral nutrition (IeEN), on the nutrition, immunoinflammatory response, antioxidant capacity and clinical outcomes in patients after esophagectomy for cancer. Methods Patients ( n = 20) undergoing esophagectomy for cancer were randomized in this single-center, open-label study. Two types of enteral supplements were used for 5 days before surgery and 7 days after surgery. The circulating levels of nutritional markers, immunoinflammatory markers, oxidative stress markers, and the antioxidant capacity were compared throughout the perioperative period, and the patients’ clinical outcomes were also compared. Results The circulating levels of nutritional markers decreased after surgery, but the changes were not significantly different between the AeEN group and the IeEN group throughout the perioperative period. Surgery increased the immunoinflammatory markers, and the levels were not significantly different between the groups after surgery. Surgery also increased the levels of oxidative stress markers, but there were no significant differences between the groups throughout the study period. Conclusions The results of this pilot study suggest that AeEN and IeEN have a similar effect on nutrition, the immunoinflammatory response, antioxidant capacity and clinical outcomes after esophagectomy for cancer. These findings, therefore, warrant further studies on a larger scale.