The Influence of Fish Oil Supplementation on the Adverse Effects of Chemotherapy in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Chemotherapy is among the most crucial therapeutic options for advanced hepatocellular cancer (HCC). There are side effects associated with chemotherapy drug use in cancer patients. It has been shown in animal models that the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids can be effective in reducing the side effects. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of fish oil supplementation on the adverse effects of chemotherapy in HCC patients. The present research was conducted as a double-blind clinical trial in Erbil City, Kurdistan region, Iraq between May 12, 2020, and December 16, 2021. After an interview, 28 HCC patients who volunteered and were receiving chemotherapy were randomly assigned to the experimental group and another 28 to the control group. The control group was given a placebo for six weeks whereas the experimental group received 3 g of omega-3 fatty acids. Following the initial collection of information for both groups, data on the side effects of chemotherapy were gathered at the start, the fourth, and the sixth weeks following the intervention. The data were examined using the independent sample t-tests, descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Cochran's Q-test. According to the study's findings, the patients in the experimental group had less nausea with passing time, and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). It is possible to draw the conclusion that taking fish oil supplements while receiving chemotherapy for HCC may be advantageous because it may lessen some of the negative effects of the treatment.