Fish Oil Protects Cancer Patients from Chemotherapy Effects

A new study shows that cancer patients who are undergoing chemo treatment may be able to save their muscle by taking Omega-3 fish oils.

Usually one of the unlucky side-effects of chemical treatment program is the loss of muscle. This muscle loss really increases rate of mortality as the patient’s body grows weaker. Until now, no known way has been identified to effectively counter the starvation due to chemo.

46 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients completed the study. All patients received a standard first line chemotherapy regime (carboplatin with either vinerelbine or gemcitabine).

The cancer patients using the fish oils were compared against patients in the middle of the same chemotherapy treatment but without use of these omega-3 rich oils.

“Fish oil may prevent loss of weight and muscle by interfering with some of the pathways that are altered in advanced cancer,” study author Dr. Vera Mazurak, of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, said in a news release. “This holds great promise, because currently there is no effective treatment for cancer-related malnutrition.”

Source:

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/hsn/fishoilseemstohelpcancerpatientspreservemuscle

Fish Oil Guide′s Comments:

It is a very promising news if not sobering study. As we know, Cancer has overtaken heart disease as the no.1 cause of death in the USA.

Firstly, as as indicated, this is a small study of only 46 participants. (However it did reach statistical significance.) And also, not all cancers are the same. Would the results have shown equal guarantee if the cancer patients were suffering other sorts of cancers? Hopefully further research will confirm the benefits of using fish oils in stopping muscle wasting from other sorts of cancers.

What is also engaging to notice is that the cancer patients studied who used fish oil lost no weight in the study period, even in spite of the chemo treatment.

Ultimately , we like how one analyst discussed that there are broader possible benefits here. For instance, old people who have a tendency to become fragile due to natural muscle loss as they age, may potentially be a good target group in supplementing with fish oil to help them preserve more muscle in their later years, regardless of any cancer diagnoses.

We do believe that the vast majority of people are very deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids.