Goal-directed Enteral Nutritional Perioperative Management

This clinical trial aims to determine whether perioperative goal-directed nutritional therapy can prevent postoperative pulmonary and other major complications in malnourished esophageal squamous cell cancer patients. Its main question is whether individualized nutritional therapy can improve short-term surgical outcomes and long-term prognosis. Researchers will compare goal-directed and conventional nutritional therapy to identify differences in morbidities and survival.

Severe malnutrition is a significant risk factor for postoperative complications in esophageal cancer patients. Early oral nutritional supplementation after surgery can prevent weight loss and improve quality of life. The EFFORT trial showed that individual-based enteral nutrition support reduced complications, extended 1-year survival, and improved quality of life. This study aims to assess the safety and effectiveness of individualized perioperative nutrition support guided by daily energy targets in esophageal cancer patients at nutritional risk. It also seeks to determine if supplementing immunonutrition can effectively reduce postoperative complications. This study was conducted as a multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled phase 3 trial. The experiment group was administered goal-directed enteral nutritional therapy, while the control group received conventional enteral nutritional therapy. The study observed the participants' major pulmonary and other complications within 90 days post-surgery and nutritional status, disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) in both groups.