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# Eating oily fish or fish oil helps breast cancer survival
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/oily_fish_or_fish_oil_helps_breast_cancer_0330150356/
- Published: 2015-03-30T16:52:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:47:22.000Z
- Description: Among 1,463 Long Island women with a first breast cancer followed 15 years, during which 485 died, the highest intakes of tuna, other baked or broiled fish, DHA and EPA corresponded to 29%, 25%, 29% and 25% lower risk of death from all causes.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Food, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

Monday March 30, 2015 (foodconsumer.org) -- Eating omega-3 fatty acid rich fish oil or taking fish oil supplements may help breast cancer survival, according to a new study in the journal Cancer.

Laboratory studies have already found ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) able to reduce inflammatory eicosanoids derived from ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and increase apoptosis and slow cell growth in breast cancer cells.

The new study led by N.K. Khankari NK and colleagues at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina showed that women who were diagnosed with breast cancer, but reported eating highest amounts of fish or intake of long chain omega 3 fatty acids, which are only found in seafood, particularly in cold water oily fish like salmon, were at up to 34 % reduced risk of death from all-causes during a 15-year follow-up.

The data came from a population-based follow-up study conducted on Long Island, New York in which 1463 women were newly diagnosed with first primary breast cancer and during a 15-year follow-up, 485 died.

The researchers found the women with breast cancer in the highest quartile of intake of tuna were 29% less likely to die from all causes, compared to those in the lowest quartile.

Similarly, those having highest intakes of other baked/broiled fish, dietary long-chain ω-3 PUFAs docosahexaenoic acid or eicosapentaenoic acid were 25%, 29% or 25% less likely to die from all causes, respectively, compared with those having the lowest intakes.

The study concluded "Long-chain ω-3 PUFA intake from fish and other dietary sources may provide a potential strategy to improve survival after breast cancer." (David Liu, PHD)

Khankari NK, Bradshaw PT, Steck SE, He K, Olshan AF, Shen J, Ahn J, Chen Y, Ahsan H, Terry MB, Teitelbaum SL, Neugut AI, Santella RM, Gammon MD., Dietary intake of fish, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and survival after breast cancer: A population-based follow-up study on Long Island, New York. Cancer. 2015 Mar 24\. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29329.