A fishy conclusion regarding n-3 fatty acid supplementation in cancer patients

Abstract

Clinical studies are emerging to support providing long chain n-3 fatty acids, found in fish oils, to prevent muscle loss, minimize side effects and improve chemotherapy response in patients with cancer. However, a recent report using experimental models made the concluding statement "..., the use of [fish oil] products during chemotherapy treatment should be avoided". This recommendation is not in line with current understanding of human nutrient requirements and needs to be carefully weighed against evidence supporting fish oil supplementation. The potential clinical detriment of consuming fish oil when undergoing platinum based therapies claimed by Roodhart et al. is not taken within the context of the collective work citing beneficial effects of fish oil in experimental models as well as in humans. Platinum-based therapies are standard of care for lung cancer in many regions of the world with no evidence that they are more or less effective than in countries where oily fish intake is minimal. Overall, the human nutrition recommendations made in the discussion of Roodhart et al. are not supported by the experimental evidence provided in the paper nor within the context of other work in this area.