Omega-3 fatty acids prevent breast cancer from spreading

Researchers have done a great deal of work to examine if omega-3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA can be used as an adjuvant therapy to boost the efficacy of chemotherapy in treating breast cancer.

Some studies have shown promising results suggesting that omega-3 fatty acids which are high in fish oil or fatty fish help fight breast cancer and prevent the disease from spreading to other issue or organs.

Altenburg J.D. and Siddiqui R. A. from Methodist Research Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana discovered that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids down modulate CXCR4 expression and function in breast cancer cells.  CXCR4 is a type of chemokine receptor.

In the study, the researchers compared two n-3 PUFAs, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on CXCR4 expression and activity in the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line with stearic acid a saturated fatty acid for their anticancer effect. 

Omega-3 fatty acids were able to help prevent the migration of cancer cells to other tissues by reducing the activity, but not the number of the chemokine receptors on the cell surface, the study found.

The authors concluded "This suggests a previously unreported potential benefit of n-3 PUFAs to patients with metastatic breast cancer."

The study was published in the July 2009 issue of Molecular Cancer Research.

Breast cancer is diagnosed in about 175,000 women each year in the United States and the disease kills about 45,000 annually in the country, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Omega-3 fatty acids can also prevent the development of breast cancer.

A new study reported in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention suggests that taking fish oil supplements, which are high in omega 3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA may help prevent breast cancer.

The study of 35,016 postmenopausal women led by Emily White at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington showed that women who took fish oil supplements regularly were 32 percent less likely to develop breast cancer, particularly invasive ductal breast cancer, the most common type of the disease.

By Jimmy Downs