M.D. Roca-Rodrigguez at University of Malaga in Málaga, Spain and colleagues conducted a study and found evidence suggesting that taking omega 3 fatty acid supplements may help patients with ear, nose, and throat cancer after radiotherapy.

The study followed 31 patients with ear, nose, and throat cancer for one year after radiotherapy and found that patients who had higher intake of omega 3 fatty acids were at lower risk of premature death and had longer survival, compared with patients who had lower intake.

The researchers observed that omega 3 fatty acids did not have a significant effect against inflammation and oxidative stress though as indicated by the concentrations of inflammatory and oxidative biomarkers.  But the group in less than 50 percentile of omega 3 fatty acid consumption experienced more hematological and immune changes. (David Liu, Ph.D.)

Roca-Rodríguez MD, García-Almeida JM, Ruiz-Nava J, Alcaide J, Lupiañez-Pérez Y, Rico-Pérez JM, Toledo-Serrano MD, Cardona F, Medina-Carmona JA, Tinahones FJ.  Long-term effects of varying consumption of ω3 fatty acids in ear, nose and throat cancer patients: assessment 1 year after radiotherapy.  Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2014 Sep 29:1-6.