Omega-3 supplementation on the nutritional status of patients with pancreatic nepoplasm: A systematic review of clinical
trials
Name: LUCIANA BICALHO CEVOLANI PIRES
Publication date: 16/06/2023
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| LUIS CARLOS LOPES JUNIOR | Advisor |
Summary: Introduction: pancreatic neoplasm is the seventh leading cause of cancer death
worldwide. Most of these patients with pancreatic neoplasm develop malnutrition that
can progress to cachexia. Although omega-3 supplementation is used in clinical
practice, however, so far, evidence on omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on
nutritional status in patients with pancreatic cancer has not been summarized by any
systematic review yet. Objective: to synthesize and evaluating the evidence on the
effects of omega-3 supplementation on the nutritional status of patients with pancreatic
cancer. Methods: a systematic review of clinical trials was performed with high
compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-
Analyses (PRISMA Statement 2020). MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane
Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus, and Web of Science were
searched, with no restrictions on publication date and language. The internal validity
and risk of bias of randomized controlled trials were assessed using the revised Risk-
Of-Bias (RoB 2) tool for randomized controlled trials, while the risk of bias in nonrandomised
intervention studies was assessed using the Risk tool tool Of Bias In Nonrandomized
Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I). Results: eight studies met all
inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Five studies were randomized clinical trials and
most of them (n = 4) were classified as low risk of bias, and the three quasi-experiments
were classified as moderate risk of bias. Among the studies that investigated the
outcome increase/maintenance of body weight, six presented positive and statistically
significant results (p<0.05). Conclusion: in conclusion, the evidence presented
indicates that omega-3 supplementation in patients with pancreatic cancer is safe, well
tolerated and beneficial, due to stabilization or increase in body weight, decrease in IL-
6 production, decrease in cortisol/ insulin and CRP stabilization, and these changes
occurred in association with improved appetite and reduced levels of inflammatory
biomarkers. PROSPERO registration: CRD42022332619.
