Perspective: Implications of Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid Supplementation on the Immune System during Cancer Chemotherapy: Perspectives from Current Clinical Evidence
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFAs) with pleiotropic effects on the immune system. Although several preclinical studies support their potential to enhance cancer treatment efficacy, this has not yet been translated into clinical studies. Currently, there are no official recommendations for n-3 LCPUFAs supplementation during cancer chemotherapy. This review examined human studies that supplemented DHA and/or EPA in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, aiming to evaluate n-3 LCPUFAs effects on immune outcomes. A systematic search was conducted using electronic databases, including OvidMedline and the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s Clinical Study Database. Twelve studies were included in this review. EPA+DHA doses ranged from 0.6 to 4 g/d, and intervention durations ranged from 6 wk to 6 mo. Most of the studies demonstrated changes in some immune-related outcomes, including reductions in the blood markers of inflammation (interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein), a lower incidence of adverse events, and the preservation of immune cell concentrations and functions (phagocytosis and hydrogen peroxide production). However, caution is warranted due to the limited number of studies and the heterogeneity of study designs. This review discusses the limitations of current studies and the mechanistic evidence supporting the investigation and potential use of n-3 LCPUFAs during cancer chemotherapy. Future research should focus on addressing these limitations by conducting well-designed, large-scale clinical trials that clearly report the dose and duration of n-3 LCPUFAs supplementation during specific chemotherapy regimens. Despite some promising outcomes, more evidence will be needed before recommending n-3 LCPUFAs supplementation as part of chemotherapy regimens aimed at attenuating chemotherapy-induced immune alterations.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.005 | 0.017 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.004 | 0.002 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.003 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.003 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.007 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".