SynthesisBMC public health2014
Effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on cancer incidence, non-vascular death, and total mortality: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Omega-3, omega-6 and total dietary polyunsaturated fat on cancer incidence: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials.British journal of cancer · 2020Pooled it
- Vitamin D, Marine n-3 Fatty Acids, and Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Current Evidence.Circulation research · 2020Trial
- Marine n-3 Fatty Acids and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer.The New England journal of medicine · 2019Trial
- Addressing evidence gaps in haemodialysis care: a critical review of clinical trials, technological innovations, and implementation priorities.BMC nephrology · 2026Article
- A to Z of Health: An Evidence-Based Narrative Review of Multivitamin-Multimineral and Nutraceutical Supplementation.Cureus · 2026Review
- Non-Esterified Fatty Acid Profiles and Cause-Specific Mortality: The Cardiovascular Health Study.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Article
- Plasma metabolomics profiles and breast cancer risk.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2024Article
- Associations between diet and nutritional supplements and colorectal cancer: A systematic review.JGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2024Article
- Marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and prevention of cardiovascular disease: update on the randomized trial evidence.Cardiovascular research · 2023Review
- The association between genetically elevated polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of cancer.EBioMedicine · 2023Article
- Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Reprogramming of Fatty Acid Metabolism in Gynaecological Cancers: Is There a Role for Oestradiol?Metabolites · 2022Review
- Genetically predicted plasma phospholipid arachidonic acid concentrations and 10 site-specific cancers in UK biobank and genetic consortia participants: A mendelian randomization study.Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2021Article
- Blood n-3 fatty acid levels and total and cause-specific mortality from 17 prospective studies.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Evaluation of the Effect of Fish Oil Alone and in Combination with a Proprietary Chromium Complex on Endothelial Dysfunction, Systemic Inflammation and Lipid Profile in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2020Article
- Nanomedicine-based formulations containing ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: potential application in cardiovascular and neoplastic diseases.International journal of nanomedicine · 2019Review
- Lipidomic Profiling of Lung Pleural Effusion Identifies Unique Metabotype for EGFR Mutants in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the prevention of postoperative complications in colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.OncoTargets and therapy · 2016Article
- The association between marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels and survival after renal transplantation.Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN · 2015Observational
- Differential Utilization of Dietary Fatty Acids in Benign and Malignant Cells of the Prostate.PloS one · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOmega-3 fatty acids are known to prevent cardiac death. However, previous observational studies have suggested that omega-3 fatty acids are associated with cancer risk in adults. We conducted a meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on the risk of cancer incidence, nonvascular death, and total mortality.
methodsIn February 2013, we performed electronic searches in PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane Library to identify randomized controlled trials on cancer incidence, nonvascular death, and total mortality. Relative risk (RR) was used to measure the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the risk of cancer incidence, nonvascular death, and total mortality using a random-effect model. The analysis was further stratified by factors that could affect the treatment effects.
resultsOf the 8,746 identified articles, we included 19 trials reporting data on 68,954 individuals. These studies reported 1,039 events of cancer, 2,439 events of nonvascular death, and 7,025 events of total mortality. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation had no effect on cancer incidence (RR, 1.10; 95% CI: 0.97-1.24; P = 0.12), nonvascular death (RR, 1.00; 95% CI: 0.93-1.08; P = 1.00), or total mortality (RR, 0.95; 95% CI: 0.88-1.03; P = 0.24) when compared to a placebo. Subgroup analysis indicated that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation was associated with a reduction in total mortality risk if the proportion of men in the study population was more than 80%, or participants received alpha-linolenic acid.
conclusionsOmega-3 fatty acid supplementation does not have an effect on cancer incidence, nonvascular death, or total mortality.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.