FRIDAY, Oct. 30, 2026 (HealthDay News) — High-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplements might improve survival among some patients with advanced colon cancer, a new study says.
Patients had higher five-year overall survival rates if they took high daily doses of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a type of fatty acid, before and after surgery to remove colon cancer that had spread to their liver, researchers reported Sunday. The findings were presented in Madrid at a meeting of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).
About 62% of patients taking 4 grams of EPA daily survived after five years, compared to 45% of those taking a placebo, researchers said.
“The overall survival benefit seen with EPA, if confirmed in other studies, is clinically meaningful for the group of patients who have had surgery for bowel cancer spread to the liver and in whom the cancer frequently comes back,” said lead author Mark Hull, a professor of molecular gastroenterology at the University of Leeds in the U.K.
“This is particularly the case as EPA is well-tolerated and safe, even when other cancer treatments are needed,” Hull said in a news release.
For the new study, researchers recruited 418 U.K. patients scheduled for surgery to remove tumors on their liver that had developed as a result of colon cancer. The patients were randomly assigned to take four grams of either EPA or a mineral oil placebo every day.
Despite improvement in overall survival, median progression-free survival was similar between the two groups — 13.5 months versus 12.9 months, researchers noted. Progression-free survival refers to the amount of time a patient lives with cancer, but it does not get worse.
The survival benefits might reflect how a person’s body responds to cancer, especially if they suffer from weight loss, reduced appetite and fatigue, Hull suggested.
“Longer overall survival but no significant improvement in progression-free survival has also been seen in trials of cancer immunotherapy, and more research is needed to work out whether EPA works by improving the body’s immune response to cancer,” Hull said.
ESMO expert Dr. Chiara Cremolini said the findings “are definitely intriguing, from both a biological and a clinical point of view.”
“Confirmatory results are likely needed before incorporating this treatment option into daily clinical practice,” Cremolini, an associate professor of medical oncology at the University of Pisa in Italy, said in a news release.
She noted that patients who need surgery for liver tumors can have very different treatment histories as well as biological and molecular cancer characteristics, so future trials should take that into account. Cremolini was not involved in the new study.
Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has more on omega-3 fatty acids.
SOURCE: European Society for Medical Oncology, news release, Oct. 25, 2026
