Nutritional Advice El Mondo
Objectives:
Surgical resection remains the primary treatment for gastrointestinal (GI) malignancy including early-stage cancer. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have been reported to have beneficial clinical and immune-modulating effects in the prognosis of gastrointestinal cancer patients undergoing surgery. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.
What is the impact of n-3 PUFA supplementation on postoperative inflammation status and immune function of gastrointestinal cancer patients?
Study design:
This review article included a total of 9 RCTs with 623 participants.
The homogeneous test detected no statistical heterogeneity between studies.
There was no evidence of publication bias following assessment by funnel plot, Egger’s test [p > 0.05] and Begg’s test [p > 0.05].
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found the n-3 PUFAs regime significantly resulted in lower levels of C-reactive protein [p 0.05], interleukin-6 [p 0.01] and higher levels of albumin, CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio [p 0.05] compared with the isocaloric nutrition regime.
The investigators found, however, no significant difference in the level of tumor necrosis factor-α between the n-3 PUFAs regime and the isocaloric nutrition regime [p = 0.17].
The investigators found that the level of CD8 + T cells significantly decreased compared with the isocaloric nutrition regime [p 0.0001].
The investigators concluded that n-3 PUFAs are effective in improving the nutritional status and immune function of gastrointestinal cancer patients undergoing surgery as they effectively enhance immunity and attenuate the inflammatory response. Although further larger trials are needed, these fatty acids should be widely used in the clinic.
Original title:
Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal malignancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Yu J, Liu L, [...], Yang F.
Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5391568/
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on n-3 PUFA consumption and cancer right here.