{"entity":{"id":"omega3-epa-cachexia","kind":"technology","name":"Fish oil (EPA) for cancer weight loss","aka":[],"tldr":"Fish oil rich in EPA was expected to slow cancer-related muscle wasting by damping inflammation. Randomised trials and a Cochrane review found no convincing effect on weight or survival, though fish oil is safe and sits comfortably inside general nutritional support.","summary":"Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) inhibits the inflammatory cascade (IL-6, TNF, proteolysis-inducing factor) implicated in cancer cachexia, and early uncontrolled studies in pancreatic cancer were encouraging. A 2007 Cochrane review of randomised trials found insufficient evidence that oral EPA improves weight, lean mass, quality of life or survival compared with placebo or standard nutritional support; the largest trials showed no benefit. Adherence to the fishy supplements is poor in anorexic patients. EPA-enriched oral nutritional supplements remain an option within dietitian-led nutrition therapy, and ESPEN guidance considers them for patients on chemotherapy at risk of weight loss, but they are not a treatment for established cachexia, for which multimodal programmes and new drugs such as GDF-15 blockade are being tested.","status":"phase-2","asOf":"2026-09-10","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eicosapentaenoic_acid","links":[{"label":"Cochrane: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid) for cancer cachexia (2007)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004597.pub2"}],"tags":["complementary","supportive-care","evidence:insufficient"],"related":[],"cancers":["pancreatic","nsclc"],"sections":["supportive-care","nutrition-lifestyle"],"technologies":["oncology-nutrition","cachexia-therapy","nutrition-screening-mnt","resistance-training-cachexia"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["cachexia","sarcopenia"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-cachexia-supportive"],"keyPapers":["paper-dewey-cochrane-database-syst-rev"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"EPA competes with arachidonic acid, reducing pro-inflammatory eicosanoids and cytokine-driven muscle proteolysis; the effect in patients is too small to change body weight.","strengths":["Safe, well tolerated at usual doses","Reasonable component of nutritional support"],"limitations":["No effect on weight or survival in Cochrane review","Poor adherence","Trials heterogeneous"]},"route":"/technologies/omega3-epa-cachexia/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/nsclc/"},{"id":"pancreatic","kind":"cancer","name":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/pancreatic/"}],"section":[{"id":"nutrition-lifestyle","kind":"section","name":"Diet, Exercise & Lifestyle","route":"/fronts/nutrition-lifestyle/"},{"id":"supportive-care","kind":"section","name":"Supportive Care & Survivorship","route":"/fronts/supportive-care/"}],"technology":[{"id":"cachexia-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Cachexia-directed therapy (GDF-15 blockade)","route":"/technologies/cachexia-therapy/"},{"id":"oncology-nutrition","kind":"technology","name":"Nutrition support and cachexia management","route":"/technologies/oncology-nutrition/"},{"id":"nutrition-screening-mnt","kind":"technology","name":"Oncology nutrition assessment and medical nutrition therapy","route":"/technologies/nutrition-screening-mnt/"},{"id":"resistance-training-cachexia","kind":"technology","name":"Resistance training and protein for cachexia and sarcopenia","route":"/technologies/resistance-training-cachexia/"}],"term":[{"id":"cachexia","kind":"term","name":"Cancer cachexia","route":"/terms/cachexia/"},{"id":"sarcopenia","kind":"term","name":"Sarcopenia","route":"/terms/sarcopenia/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-cachexia-supportive","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Cachexia, toxicity and the limits of the patient","route":"/bottlenecks/b-cachexia-supportive/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-dewey-cochrane-database-syst-rev","kind":"paper","name":"Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid from fish oils) for the treatment of cancer cachexia","route":"/key-papers/paper-dewey-cochrane-database-syst-rev/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"nutrition-lifestyle-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Diet, exercise and lifestyle roadmap: causes established → interventions that disappointed → exercise proven as treatment","route":"/roadmaps/nutrition-lifestyle-roadmap/"}]}}