Application of ATP Infusions in Palliative Home Care

Palliative care in cancer aims at alleviating the suffering of patients. A previous study in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer showed that adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) infusions had a favourable effect on fatigue, appetite, body weight, muscle strength, functional status, quality of life, and survival. Based on these promising results, the present study was designed 1. To evaluate whether the beneficial effects of ATP administration observed in patients with advanced lung cancer would also be present in pre-terminal cancer patients of different tumour types, and 2. To test the feasibility of application of ATP infusions in a home care setting.