Drug & supplement interaction

Fish Oil + Oxaliplatin

Oxaliplatin brand name: Eloxatin.

Minor Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Minor

Fish Oil has a minor interaction with Oxaliplatin. Theoretically, taking fish oil with platinum agents can cause resistance to platinum agents, potentially decreasing their effectiveness.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMinor
LikelihoodUnlikely
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Fish Oil and Oxaliplatin

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Minor

PLATINUM AGENTS

Why this applies to Oxaliplatin

Oxaliplatin falls under PLATINUM AGENTS — the group Fish Oil interacts with.

Theoretically, taking fish oil with platinum agents can cause resistance to platinum agents, potentially decreasing their effectiveness.
Platinum-induced fatty acids (PIFAs) are fatty acids secreted from human and mouse stem cells when exposed to platinum-based chemotherapy. Animal research suggests that PIFAs cause resistance to chemotherapy by stimulating lysophospholipid production in the spleen, which interferes with the DNA damage caused by certain chemotherapy drugs. One PIFA, known as 16:4(n-3), has been found in both raw fish and some commercially available fish oil products. Mackerel and herring have high PIFA concentrations, while salmon and tuna have low PIFA concentrations. Levels of PIFA in commercial fish oil products ranged from 0.2- 5.7 microMol. Animal research shows that PIFA-containing fish oil products cause resistance to cisplatin, fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin. It is unclear if all commercially available fish oil products contain PIFAs. Additionally, it is argued that levels of PIFA found in some fish oil products are too low to be of clinical concern. Furthermore, a lack of chemotherapy resistance in countries with high fish intake, such as Greenland, Japan, and Norway, suggest that this interaction may not be clinically significant.
Severity Minor Likelihood Unlikely Evidence D

Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans..

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the gist for oxaliplatin: there's a lab-based theory that certain fatty acids in fish oil (called PIFAs) might make platinum chemo work less well. The worry isn't a side effect, it's the opposite. The concern is that your treatment could lose some of its punch against the cancer.

I want to be honest about how shaky this is. The evidence comes from test tube and animal studies, and many experts think the PIFA amounts in most fish oil products are too small to matter. Countries that eat lots of fish don't seem to have worse chemo results. Still, since timing your supplements around chemo cycles is easy and harmless, please run it by your oncologist or pharmacist before adding fish oil during treatment.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Daenen LG, Cirkel GA, Houthuijzen JM, et al. Increased plasma levels of chemoresistance-inducing fatty acid 16:4(n-3) after consumption of fish and fish oil. JAMA Oncol 2015;1(3):350-8. PubMed
  2. Mazurak VC, Calder PC, van der Meij BS. Let them eat fish. JAMA Oncol 2015;1(6):840.
  3. Baracos V. Let them eat fish. JAMA Oncol 2015;1(6):840-1.
  4. Roodhart JM, Daenen LG, Stigter EC, et al. Mesenchymal stem cells induce resistance to chemotherapy through the release of platinum-induced fatty acids. Cancer Cell 2011;20(3):370-83.
  5. Houthuijzen JM, Daenen LG, Roodhart JM, et al. Lysophospholipids secreted by splenic macrophages induce chemotherapy resistance via interference with the DNA damage response. Nat Commun 2014;5:5275. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Fish Oil Also Interacts With Other Medications

Fish Oil has 207 moderate, 119 minor known drug interactions in our database — the Oxaliplatin one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 207 Minor 119 No known interaction 2,504 (incl. Oxaliplatin)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Fish Oil

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Fish Oil. Pick one to open its full report.

From our Q&A

Questions About Fish Oil or Oxaliplatin

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Fish Oil or Oxaliplatin, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Oxaliplatin

This page covers Fish Oil only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Oxaliplatin page lists 10 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Acerola (moderate), Alpha-lipoic Acid (moderate), Coenzyme Q10 (moderate), Dimethylsulfoxide (dmso) (moderate) and Rose Hip (moderate).

By severity: 8 moderate · 2 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Oxaliplatin page

“Most of the ten supplements on record for oxaliplatin (Eloxatin), a chemotherapy used against colorectal cancer, are antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and coenzyme Q10, and the concern with each is the same, that they might in theory blunt the drug's ability to kill tumor cells. None of the ten is rated major, eight sit at mod…”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Oxaliplatin interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Fish Oil as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 4,777 real supplement products containing Fish Oil, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Fish Oil. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Oxaliplatin too, on top of Fish Oil — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Fish Oil and Oxaliplatin Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Fish Oil
Top 5%

#58 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Oxaliplatin
Steady interest

#2,794 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Supplement

About Fish Oil

What is Fish Oil?

Fish Oil
  • High triglycerides
  • Heart health
  • Joint pain and inflammation
  • Brain and eye health
  • Dry eyes

Fish oil provides omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) that are best known for lowering high triglyceride levels. The evidence for other heart and health benefits is mixed, and it is generally well tolerated. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before starting it, especially if you take blood thinners or have a fish allergy.

Read the full Fish Oil monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Oxaliplatin Injection

What Is Oxaliplatin Injection Used For?

Brand name: Eloxatin

Oxaliplatin Injection is used in combination with two other drugs — fluorouracil and leucovorin — to treat colon and colorectal cancers. It is approved for adjuvant treatment (treatment after surgery to lower the chance of cancer returning) of stage III colon cancer in patients who have had the tumor completely removed.

It is also used to treat advanced colorectal cancer (cancer that has spread or cannot be cured with surgery alone). In both settings, oxaliplatin is always given as part of a combination regimen — it is not used alone.

See full Oxaliplatin Injection drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Fish Oil

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Fish Oil — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
207Moderate
119Minor
2,503No known interaction
207 Moderate 119 Minor 2,503 No interaction
Moderate

207 interactions

Showing 60 of 207 moderate interactions — see all 207 on the Fish Oil page.

Minor

119 interactions

Showing 60 of 119 minor interactions — see all 119 on the Fish Oil page.

No interaction 2,503 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Fish Oil against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,503 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Fish Oil list.

See the full Fish Oil interactions page
See every supplement checked against Oxaliplatin, ranked by severity
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

Keep exploring
Fish Oil monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Oxaliplatin supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Oxaliplatin, ranked by severity Oxaliplatin Injection drug information › The full plain-English guide to this medication Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Fish Oil and Oxaliplatin Together: Common Questions

Can you take Fish Oil with Oxaliplatin?
There is only a minor interaction, which is usually not serious. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Fish Oil and Oxaliplatin interaction?
We rate it Minor. This interaction is generally not clinically significant, but it remains worth noting and discussing with your pharmacist.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Oxaliplatin and Fish Oil?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.