Omega 3 Fats May Help Some Cancer Patients, Steinhardt Researcher Finds

By Tim Farrell

      Omega 3 fats are essential fats found naturally in oily fish. Food manufacturers have begun to add them to foods such as yogurt, milk, juice, eggs, and infant formula in light of evidence suggesting that Omega 3 fats reduce cardiovascular disease risk, blood pressure, clot formations, and certain types of fat in the blood.
       Given these health benefits, Aoife Ryan, assistant professor of nutrition in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, was interested to see whether Omega 3 supplements could reduce post-operative weight loss among esophageal cancer patients. Previous studies had found supplements containing one form of Omega 3 fat, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), significantly reduced weight loss among inoperable cancer patients. Ryan hypothesized that a nutritional supplement rich in calories and a high dose of EPA would stem the debilitating weight loss seen in patients following esophageal surgery.
       In a double-blinded, randomized control trial, the gold standard in medical research, patients awaiting esophagectomy surgery were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. While both groups received a nutritional supplement starting five days before surgery, patients in the treatment group received an enriched formula with Omega 3. Immediately following surgery, the supplement was given through a feeding tube for 14 days while patients recovered in the hospital.
       Ryan and her co-investigator, John V. Reynolds, professor of surgery at Trinity College Dublin, found that patients in the treatment group maintained all aspects of their body composition following surgery. Omega 3 fed patients also had better immune function, lower risk of fever post op, and significantly reduced levels of inflammatory markers in their blood.
       “The results are intriguing,” says Ryan. “No previous study of nutritional support in the peri-operative period has revealed such a benefit.”
       The research was published in the March 2009 issue of Annals of Surgery. An accompanying editorial in the journal noted that Ryan’s study “is a significant step forward” in the management of patients undergoing surgery for esophageal and perhaps other complex cancers.