Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as adjuvant therapy of colorectal cancer

Abstract

The majority of evidence linking anti-colorectal cancer (CRC) activity with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (O3FAs) has focussed on decreased CRC risk (prevention). More recently, preclinical data and human observational studies have begun to make the case for adjuvant treatment of advanced CRC. Herein, we review latest data regarding the effect of O3FAs on post-diagnosis CRC outcomes, including mechanistic preclinical data, evidence that O3FAs have beneficial effects on efficacy and tolerability of CRC chemotherapy, and human epidemiological data linking dietary O3FA intake with CRC outcomes. We also highlight ongoing randomised controlled trials of O3FAs with CRC endpoints and discuss critical gaps in the evidence base, which include limited understanding of the effects of O3FAs on the tumour microenvironment, the host immune response to CRC, and the intestinal microbiome.

Metadata

Authors/Creators:

Volpato, M https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7851-4533
Hull, MA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7414-1576

© 2018, The Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Keywords:

Cachexia; Chemotherapy; Colorectal cancer; Docosahexaenoic acid; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid

Dates: