Improved antioxidant status by omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a case series

Journal of Medical Case Reports

Ruchika Kaul-Ghanekar²  Kavita Shinde²  Amol Chaudhary²  Rashmi Deshpande²  Mrunal Ketkar¹  Prakash Mansara² 

[1] Department of Surgery, Bharati Vidyapeeth Hospital and Research Centre (BVHRC), Pune 411043, India;Interactive Research School for Health Affairs (IRSHA), Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Katraj-Dhankawadi, Pune 411043, Maharashtra, India

关键词: Superoxide dismutase;    Plasma antioxidant;    Glutathione reductase;    Fish oil;    Chemotherapy;    Catalase;   

Others  :  1231464
DOI  :  10.1186/s13256-015-0619-3

 received in 2015-03-20, accepted in 2015-05-22,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Introduction

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide and the third most common cancer in India. Various studies have reported that chemotherapy reduces the antioxidant status in patients with cancer. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to offer protection against breast cancer through various mechanisms. However, there are no reports suggesting a relationship between consumption of omega-3 fatty acids during chemotherapy and antioxidant status in patients with breast cancer. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate whether fish oil supplementation could improve the antioxidant status of five women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Case presentation

We report on the cases of five Indian women with breast cancer, in the age group of 34 to 60 years, who had poorly differentiated breast carcinoma and underwent modified radical mastectomy. Postsurgery, the patients were given fish oil capsules containing eicosapentaenoic acid (180mg) and docosahexaenoic acid (120mg)/capsule during their chemotherapy. Informed consent was obtained from each participant and they were followed-up to the completion of six chemotherapy cycles at 21-day intervals.

Conclusions

The supplementation of fish oil significantly (p < 0.01) increased superoxide dismutases, glutathione reductase and catalase activity in red blood cells as well as the total plasma antioxidant status in the patients. This approach of using omega-3 fatty acids as an adjuvant treatment for breast cancer may help oncologists to manage the side effects of ongoing chemotherapy by improving the antioxidant status in patients.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Mansara et al.

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1.

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