Fish oil, lean tissue, and cancer: is there a role for eicosapentaenoic acid in treating the cancer anorexia/weight loss syndrome?

In view of these recent results, the goals of this review are as follows: (1) to provide background on the mandate for further study of the cancer-associated anorexia/weight loss syndrome; (2) to review the preliminary data that have suggested that eicosapentaenoic acid is a promising agent for treating this syndrome; (3) to review the methodology and findings of the more recent, definitive clinical trials; (4) to discuss and speculate on why the earlier positive findings drew conclusions that are discrepant from the results of more recent comparative clinical studies.