# Immunonutrition

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/immunonutrition/  
OnCo record `immunonutrition` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Immunonutrition means nutritional drinks enriched with specific nutrients (arginine, omega-3 fats, nucleotides) meant to strengthen immune function, mostly given before major surgery.

## Summary

Pre-operative immunonutrition for 5-7 days is recommended by ESPEN and ERAS for major upper gastrointestinal and head and neck cancer surgery on the basis of meta-analyses showing fewer infectious complications. The trial base is old and largely industry-sponsored, and recent trials are less positive; the term is also used loosely by supplement marketers.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Also known as: Immune-modulating nutrition; Arginine-omega-3 formulas

## Sources

- Muscaritoli et al., ESPEN practical guideline: clinical nutrition in cancer (Clinical Nutrition 2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2021.02.005

## Connected records

- technologies: [Enhanced recovery (ERAS) and perioperative nutrition](https://onco.cc/technologies/eras-perioperative-nutrition/), [Immunonutrition before cancer surgery](https://onco.cc/technologies/immunonutrition-perioperative/)
- terms: [Prehabilitation (the pre-treatment window)](https://onco.cc/terms/prehabilitation-term/)
- key papers: [ESPEN practical guideline: Clinical Nutrition in cancer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-muscaritoli-clin-nutr/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/immunonutrition.json