Subclinical thiamine deficiency identified by pretreatment evaluation in an esophageal cancer patient

Despite the fact that both thiamine deficiency (TD) and Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) have been observed to some degree in cancer patients, such cases of TD and/or WE reported to date have all been diagnosed after the initiation of treatment. We here report a case of TD that presented without the com...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of clinical nutrition 2021-03, Vol.75 (3), p.564-566
Main Authors: Yoshioka, Akira, Sato, Izumi, Onishi, Hideki, Ishida, Mayumi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Appetite
Beriberi
Cancer
Case Report
Case reports
Case studies
Cerebellum
Diagnosis
Encephalopathy
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal Neoplasms - complications
Esophagus
Evaluation
Humans
Male
Mental disorders
Pretreatment
Thiamine
Thiamine Deficiency - complications
Thiamine Deficiency - diagnosis
Thiamine Deficiency - drug therapy
Vitamin B
Vitamin B1 deficiency
Vitamin deficiency
Wernicke Encephalopathy - diagnosis
Wernicke Encephalopathy - drug therapy
Wernicke Encephalopathy - etiology
Wernicke's encephalopathy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Despite the fact that both thiamine deficiency (TD) and Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) have been observed to some degree in cancer patients, such cases of TD and/or WE reported to date have all been diagnosed after the initiation of treatment. We here report a case of TD that presented without the commonly accepted triad of WE symptoms based on a total nutritional evaluation prior to the onset of treatment for cancer. The patient was a 71-year-old man with esophageal cancer who was referred to the oncology outpatient clinic for evaluation to determine the treatment plan. Although he did not present with delirium, cerebellar signs, or ocular symptoms, TD was suspected based on a reduction in appetite lasting 2 months as thiamine stores in the body are depleted in as few as 18 days. Blood findings showed a marked decline in serum thiamine level supported, which the diagnosis of TD. This case revealed the existence of a cancer patient with subclinical TD prior to the onset of treatment for cancer. Due to the fact that TD can occur without the characteristic symptoms as in this case, we believe it is important that total nutritional evaluation of cancer patients always be considered.
ISSN:0954-3007
1476-5640
DOI:10.1038/s41430-020-00735-y