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Inflammation is a common feature in cancer. The presence and magnitude of the chronic systemic inflammatory responses may produce progressive nutritional decline. This study aims at investigating whether there are changes in inflammation markers and/or in nutritional status of patients with colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy who were supplemented with fish oil. The clinical trial was conducted with 23 patients randomly distributed in 2 groups. The supplemented group (SG) consumed 2 g of fish oil containing 600 milligrams of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for 9 wk. Nutritional and inflammatory markers status was available, both at a baseline (M0), and after 9 wk of chemotherapy (M9) in the SG and in the nonsupplemented group (NSG). Statistical analysis was conducted with STATA 11.0 software. SG and NSG presented the same baseline characteristics (P > 0.05). Nutritional status indicators such as body mass index and body weight were modified only in the NSG when comparing baseline and M9, P = 0.03 and P = 0.01 respectively, whereas in SG these indicators did not vary. Patients supplemented with fish oil (SG) showed a clinically relevant decrease in the C-reactive protein/albumin relation (P = 0.005). Low doses of fish oil supplement can positively modulate the nutritional status and the C-reative protein/albumin ratio.

The authors evaluated clinical outcomes during and after chemotherapy in colorectal cancer patients supplemented with fish oil during the first 9 wk of treatment. Thirty individuals never submitted to chemotherapy were randomized into supplemented group (SG), which received 2 g/day of fish oil (0.6 g/day of EPA and DHA) for 9 wk or control group (CG), which received neither fish oil nor placebo. Outcomes assessed were number of chemotherapy cycles administered; days undergoing chemotherapy; number of delays and interruptions in the administration of chemotherapy; number of hospitalizations during chemotherapy; tumor progression; values of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA); days until events (death and progression); and 3 yr survival. Time to tumor progression was significantly longer in SG [S593 days (±211.5)] vs. CG [330 days (± 135.1); P = 0.04], other outcomes did not differ between groups. Subjects with advanced cancer who received fish oil presented longer time to tumor progression and lower CEA values after chemotherapy; however these differences were not statistically significant. Supplementation with 2 g/day of fish oil for the first 9 wk of chemotherapy may contribute to delay in tumor progression in colorectal patients, possibly by enhancing the antineoplastic action of the chemotherapeutic drug.

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e15594 Background: The intake of nutritional supplements, such as fish oil, can modulate the inflammatory response and thus interfere with therapeutic results. Methods: Patients clinically staged as T3,4 and / or N + rectal adenocarcinoma were randomized 1:1 to receive oral ingestion four capsules, totaling 4g of concentrated fish oil (each gram of fish oil concentrate contained 1448 mg of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + 964 mg of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) throughout neoadjuvant conventional chemoradiation (intervention group – IG) or chemoradiation without supplement (control group – CG). All patients were operated about 8 weeks after chemoradiation. Correlation of inflammatory response - Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) with disease-free survival (DFS) was the primary outcome; measurements were collected at 4 moments: M1: at diagnosis; M2: at the end of chemoradiation; M3: at 4 weeks after end of chemoradiotherapy; and M4: preoperatively. Results: From January, 2015 and July, 2017, a total of 111 patients with cT3, 4 and / or N (+) rectal adenocarcinoma were accrued and randomized; 105 were randomized (IG: 51 and CG: 54). Mean age were 60 years, ranging from 30-86 years. There was no difference between groups in M1. In M2 and M3 there were differences between the IG and the CG in systemic inflammatory response measured by GPS (M2: p = 0.001; M3: p = 0.027). After neoadjuvant therapy, 49 patients in the CG and 46 patients in the IG were submitted to surgery; complete pathological response (pCR) was present in 15 patients in the CG and in 10 patients in the IG; there was no association of pCR and fish oil supplementation (P = 0.34). Median follow-up time was 45 months (range: 2-72). With a median follow up time of 24 months, DFS was shorter in patients with KPS < 90% (47.0% vs 80.1%, P = 0.01), high risk (T4 or N+) rectal cancer (67.4% vs 89.7%, P = 0.01) and patients who did not achieve pCR after neoadjuvant CRT (65.5% vs 95.8%, P = 0.003). Also, shorter DFS was observed in patients with GPS 1 or 2 in M2 (69.1% vs 76.7%, p = 0.01) and M4 (38.9% vs 75.3%, p = 0.04) compared to patients with GPS 0 (reduced inflammatory response). In multivariate analysis, patients with high risk rectal cancer and GPS 1 or 2 in M2 had 3.07 and 2.11-fold greater risk of disease relapse; patients who achieved pCR had 84% reduction risk of DFS. KPS and GPS in M4 were not independent prognostic biomarkers for DFS. Conclusions: The oil fish supplementation during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer was able to reduce the systemic inflammation syndrome (GPS = 0) associated with cancer. This reduction during treatment, especially in the preoperative moment was associated with better DFS. Thus, this intervention proposed in our study, as it is easily accessible and low cost, may be a viable strategy in this population and this finding should be better evaluate in future trials. Clinical trial information: NCT02534389.