P357 - CLINICAL EFFECTS OF PERIOPERATIVE N-3 FATTY ACID SUPPLEMENTATION WITHOUT NUCLEOTIDES IN GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER SURGERY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS

P357

CLINICAL EFFECTS OF PERIOPERATIVE N-3 FATTY ACID SUPPLEMENTATION WITHOUT NUCLEOTIDES IN GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER SURGERY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS

P. Lenartz^1,*, S. Egert¹, L. Hansch¹

¹Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Nutritional Physiology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Rationale: Postoperative complications contribute to morbidity, prolonged hospitalization and increased mortality. To reduce these risks, long-chain n-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs) have been investigated in clinical studies, with some showing beneficial effects on clinical outcomes.
In many trials, n-3 FAs were part of an immunonutrition formula that also included arginine, glutamine, or RNA. To our knowledge, no systematic review has evaluated the effect of n-3 FA supplementation without nucleotides. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to assess the isolated effects of n-3 FAs on clinically relevant outcomes.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed. Thirteen randomized controlled trials on oral, enteral or parenteral n-3 FA supplementation in patients undergoing gastrointestinal tumor resection were included. Only studies without nucleotide co-supplementation were considered. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using Jadad Score and RoB 2.0.

Results: The evidence showed substantial heterogeneity. No statistically significant effect on mortality was found. While some trials reported reductions in postoperative complications, findings on length of hospitalization were inconsistent. Immune marker outcomes varied depending on measurement timing and type, but no consistent pattern was observed. Direct comparability was limited by methodological heterogeneity.

Conclusion: This review confirms the lack of consistent evidence for a clinical benefit of n-3 FAs without nucleotide co-supplementation. The studies varied in design, outcomes and populations. Future research should address these gaps with more standardized endpoints and stratified analyses.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared