EPA halts cancer-induced weight loss The progressive weight loss and muscle wasting seen in cancer patients could be halted or even reversed by giving them a high energy, high protein supplement containing eicosapentae-noic acid (EPA), according to the results of an 8-week prospective multicentre study. Cachexia occurs in the majority of patients with cancer and can contribute sub-stantially to morbidity and mortality, seriously affects quality of life, and causes distress to patients and their families. Cancer-induced weight loss is mediated in part by a glycoprotein called proteolysis- inducing factor PIF). Research by Professor Michael Tisdale (Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Institute, Aston University, Birmingham, UK) showed that EPA attenuates the catabolic action of PIF on skeletal muscle. Results of the study were presented at a meeting of the British Association of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (13–15 November 2001, Harrogate, UK). Two hundred severely cachetic patients with advanced pancreatic cancer were asked to consume 1.5–2 cans of oral supplement per day; these contained either 1.09 g EPA and 0.46 g docosahexaenoic acid, together with 32 g protein, 49.7 g carbohydrate and 6.5 g fat (310 kcal), or an isocaloric, isonitrogenous control mixture. Prior to the study, weight loss in both groups was 3.3 kg per month. Four weeks later, the weights of patients in both groups had stabilised, and this effect was still seen at 8 weeks. However, patients in the EPA group showed a correlation between suppl-ement intake and gain in both weight (P<0.001) and lean body mass (P=0.036); in fact, higher plasma EPA concentrations were associated with an increase in lean body mass. Patients were followed up for 6 months, but there was no improvement in overall survival. "We are looking at an improvement in quality of life, but not quantity of life”, says lead researcher Kenneth Fearon, Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Edinburgh, UK. "One of the key questions now is whether this is a useful adjuvant to chemotherapy, since a patient’s physical decline will sometimes limit the amount of chemotherapy they can take. That’s what we are working on at the moment", he adds. THE LANCET Oncology Vol 3 January 2002 7 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.