[Symptoms involving the gastrointestinal tract].

Symptoms involving the gastrointestinal tract are very common in patients who require palliative treatment. They can be caused by the patient's underlying (malignant) disease or by the treatment of this disease. Nausea and vomiting as well as constipation are of the utmost importance in this context due both to their frequency as well as their complex consequences. A careful evaluation of the patient's history combined with a few diagnostic procedures will help to provide a treatment which is orientated on pathophysiology.