The interrelationship of nitrogen and phosphorus in patients with certain neoplastic diseases

Abstract

PATIENTS with malig-M nant neoplasms in this clinic have revealed retention of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium during progressive neoplastic growth. This has occurred when the subjects have ingested diets that would be adequate merely to maintain body weight and nitrogen equilibrium in healthy adults of the same age and body habitus. I t is well known that malnourished patients will retain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium avidly when an adequate dietary intake is established. In the cancerous subjects, however, the retention of phosphorus and potassium was greater in relation to nitrogen than that seen in protein-depleted individuals with chronic non-neoplastic diseases. This phenomenon was first observed in patients with leukemia more than half a century ago.10. 11, 21