The following is a summary of the “Feasibility of Investigational Procedures and Efficacy of a Personalized Omega-3 Dietary Intervention in Alleviating Pain and Psychoneurological Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors,” published in the February 2023 issue of Pain management by Xu, et al.

This research looked at the potential and early success of a tailored diet plan that included omega-3LC to lower PNS symptoms. The effectiveness of a tailored meal plan containing either high or low doses of omega-3LC (on pain, depression, exhaustion, sleep, and stress) was assessed in a prospective, randomized, controlled experiment (n = 46).

Recruiting was successful at a 4.9% clip, with an overall retention rate of 74% and a whopping 67.1% of participants sticking to their individual meal plans and dieting guidelines. About 94% of those who participated in the study recorded their fish consumption and ate at least 70% of their allotted amount. The collection rate for saliva was 100% at the follow-up and 97.8% at baseline. Pain (P< .01), subjective stress (P< .05), sleep (P< .001), sadness (P< .001), and exhaustion (P< .01) all decreased significantly in the high omega-3LC group among Breast cancer survivors (BCS) over the length of intervention. 

In the low omega-3LC group, there were some encouraging signs of PNS improvement, but the differences were not statistically significant. The findings from our study demonstrate the viability of our research framework, methods, and intervention. The results lend preliminary credence to the idea that employing fish as a source of omega-3LC and individualized food planning as a vehicle for symptom self-management in BCS warrants a more extensive research effort.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1524904222000984