Oral nutritional supplements containing n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids affect quality of life and functional status in lung cancer patients during multimodality treatment: an RCT

Study answer

What this study found

Overall, the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplement was associated with better quality of life and functional status during multimodality treatment. Compared with control, the intervention improved Karnofsky Performance Status at 3 weeks (B=5.3, P=0.04) and improved several EORTC QLQ-C30 domains by 5 weeks, including global health status (B=12.2, P=0.04), physical function (B=11.6, P<0.01), cognitive function (B=20.7, P<0.01), social function (B=22.1, P=0.04), nausea/vomiting (B=-16.0, P=0.04), and financial problems (B=-9.5, P=0.04). Physical activity day score also improved at weeks 3…

Study & population

Randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial in adults with stage III non-small cell lung cancer undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy as part of multimodality treatment.

Intervention

Participants in the active arm received 2 cans/day of an oral nutritional supplement containing n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ProSure) by mouth for 5 weeks during chemoradiotherapy.

Key limitation

Small single-center trial with only 20 participants in the active arm and notable early attrition in that arm (5 dropouts by 3 weeks), limiting precision and robustness.

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Original abstract