BACKGROUND: Cancer cachexia is a syndrome characterized by loss of skeletal muscle protein, depletion of lipid stores, anorexia, weakness, and perturbations of the hormonal homeostasis. Despite several therapeutic approaches described in the past, effective interventions countering cancer cachexia are still lacking. METHODS: The present work was aimed to verify the ability of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to prevent the muscle depletion in Lewis lung carcinoma-bearing mice and to test the ability of endurance exercise training to increase the EPA effect. RESULTS: EPA alone did not prevent the muscle loss induced by tumor growth while the combination with exercise induced a partial rescue of muscle strength and mass. Moreover, the association of EPA and exercise reduced the dramatic PAX-7 accumulation and stimulated the increase of PCG-1 protein. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the present data suggest that exercise is an effective tool that should be added for combined therapeutic approaches against cancer cachexia. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13539-011-0028-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.