Omega 3 essential fatty acids are found in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines. Previous studies suggest that fish oils with omega 3 fatty acids can help decrease the risk of heart disease and certain cancers and reduce inflammation. Cancers have been found to produce inflammatory compounds that often cause problems with chemotherapy tolerance and malnutrition. Now research reports that fish oil supplementation can help advanced bowel cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy.
The experimental trial investigated whether fish oil supplementation would help bowel cancer patients. Researchers at the Concord Hospital in Sydney, Australia, administered fish oil capsules to advanced bowel cancer patients. The scientists obtained inflammatory markers from the participants.
The researchers found that the participants taking fish oil supplements showed improved tolerance of chemotherapy. Furthermore, those taking fish oil had a reduction of inflammatory markers and were able to maintain their weight.
The researchers intend to do more research on fish oil-type nutrition. "We've just completed a trial using fish oil supplements in this circumstance and what we found in that trial is that we were able to get patients to maintain their weight, we were able to reduce some of these inflammatory markers and they tolerated the chemotherapy, when we treated them with it, fairly well," says researcher Stephen Clarke, in a news release. "So that needs to be taken onto a randomized trial now."
REFERENCES:
1. Fish oil trial beneficial for bowel cancer patients. ABC News Online, March 9, 2006:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1587542.htm
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on November 29, 2006 03:10 PM
