1Department of Clinical Nutrition, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100038, China; 2Department of Gastrointestinal
Surgery, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100038, China; 3Department of Nursing, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital
Medical University, Beijing 100038, China; 4Department of Gastrointestinal and Herina Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical
University (now in Yunnan University), Kunming 650032, Yunnan, China; 5Department of General Surgery, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of
Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, China; 6Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital Affiliated to
Tongji University, Shanghai 200072, China; 7Key Laboratory of Cancer FSMP for State Market Regulation, Beijing 100038, China
Abstract：Objective To study the effects of adding β⁃hydroxy⁃β⁃methylbutyrate (HMB) to oral nutritional supplements on elderly
patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ colon cancer to improve postoperative fatigue and quality of life. Method Colon cancer patients enrolled
from January 2020 to June 2021 in Beijing Shijitan Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Fourth Affiliated
Hospital of Harbin Medical University, and Tenth People's Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University were hospitalized for radical
resection. Divided into HMB intervention group and control group, by using the brief fatigue inventory (BFI) and the quality of life
questionnaire⁃core 30 (QLQ⁃C30) scale to assess the degree of fatigue and quality of life of patients before and after surgery. Timed
take⁃off test was used to assess the patient's overall physical fitness, white blood cell count and C⁃reactive protein to assess the changes
in the patient's inflammation level. The patient's total hospital stay and total hospital expenses were recorded. Result The postoperative
fatigue of the HMB intervention group was better than that of the control group in all dimensions (P<0.05). The overall quality of
life of patients in the HMB intervention group was better than that in the control group [(41.2±2.6) vs (45.7±3.1), P=0.001]. Among
them, in the field of quality of life symptoms, the scores of patients in the HMB intervention group were better than those in the control
group[ (9.1±7.9) vs (15.2±8.2), P=0.008]. The postoperative white blood cell count of the HMB intervention group was lower than
the control group [(5.5±1.6)×109/L vs (6.6±1.7)×109/L, P=0.042]. Conclusion Compared with regular oral nutritional supplements,
oral nutritional supplements with HMB can improve the overall quality of life and fatigue better, and reduce the overall inflammation
level of elderly patients with colon cancer after surgery.
