Omega-3s May Improve Lean Mass inCancer Patients

Omega-3s May Improve Lean Mass inCancer Patients

EDINBURGH, ScotlandOmega-3supplementation may help alleviate cancer-related weight loss, as well as helpincrease lean body mass, according to research published in the October issue ofGut (52, 10:1479-86, 2003) (http://gut.bmjjournals.com). Researchers fromEurope, Canada and the United States, led by Ken Fearon, M.D., of the RoyalInfirmary of Edinburgh, enrolled 200 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer intheir double blind, multi-center trial.

For eight weeks, subjects were randomly assigned to receiveeither a protein- and energy-dense supplement enriched with omega-3 fatty acidsand antioxidants, or a control supplement. Subjects were advised to drink twocans of supplement per day, although compliance averaged 1.4 cans per day.

At baseline, the study subjects were losing weight at anaverage of 3.3 kg/month, but over the eight-week study period, weight loss anddecreases in lean body mass stopped in both groups. Because compliance was notgood in either group, researchers investigated whether the supplements may havehad a dose-dependent response and found some advantages to the omega-3-enrichedsupplement. Patients in the treatment group exhibited significant correlationsbetween supplement intake and increases in weight and body mass compared to anon-significant correlation in the placebo group. The changes in the treatmentgroup were associated with elevations in plasma levels of the omega-3eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Additionally, the relationship between supplementintake and change in lean body mass was significantly different between thetreatment and control groups, with weight gain being associated with improvedquality of life only in the treatment group. Researchers concluded that whileomega-3 fatty acids did not provide a therapeutic advantage over the controlsupplement since both supplements arrested weight loss, omega-3 enrichmentdose-dependently induced a net gain of weight and lean tissue, as well asimproved quality of life.