Table 6.

Median (25th, 75th quartile) content of selected polyunsaturated fatty acids and ratio n-3/n-6 fatty acids in diet and plasma phospholipids (PL) in colorectal cancer patients, separated by Dukes stage A + B and C + D (n = 65)^a.

	Dukes stage
	A + B (n = 27)	C + D (n = 38)	P value
Diet (g/day)
Dietary 20:4n-6 (AA)	0.13 (0.11, 0.15)	0.15 (0.11, 0.20)	0.13
Dietary 20:5n-3 (EPA)	0.26 (0.18, 0.37)	0.34 (0.24, 0.53)	0.10
Dietary 22:6n-3 (DHA)	0.45 (0.33, 0.58)	0.56 (0.44, 0.94)	0.02
Sum dietary EPA + DHA	0.72 (0.50, 0.94)	0.88 (0.68, 1.49)	0.04
Ratio dietary n-3/n-6 fatty acids	0.18 (0.16, 0.21)	0.21 (0.18, 0.27)	0.007
Plasma PL (g/100 g)
Plasma PL 20:4n-6 (AA)	9.2 (7.7, 10.8)	9.3 (8.0, 10.5)	0.85
Plasma PL 20:5n-3 (EPA)	1.2 (1.0, 1.7)	1.5 (1.1, 2.2)	0.30
Plasma PL 22:6n-3 (DHA)	5.4 (4.4, 6.7)	6.0 (5.0, 7.2)	0.20
Sum plasma PL EPA + DHA	6.7 (5.8, 7.7)	7.6 (6.0, 9.4)	0.17
Ratio plasma PL n-3/n-6 fatty acids	0.25 (0.18, 0.28)	0.26 (0.20, 0.35)	0.32

^aAbbreviation is as follows: PL: phospholipids.