Friday June 20, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- Previous studies have shown that intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may help prevent hormone-responsive cancers such as breast cancer.  A new study suggests that this same dietary supplement may also prevent endometrial cancer.

In the current study of cultured cancer cells, docosahexenoic acid (DHA) was found to inhibit endometrial cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, and migration in a dose-and time-dependent manner , and promote apoptosis.

In xenograft models, dietary n-3 PUFAs effectively prevented endometrial cancer cell growth.

The study also found ectopic expression of fat-1, a desaturase that catalyzes the conversion of n-6 to n-3 PUFAs endogenously, suppressed endometrial cancer cell growth and migration, and potentiated apoptosis in endometrial cancer cells.   This finding indicates a possibility that n-3 PUFAs prevent endometrial cancer cell growth.

Evidence from the study indicates that n-3 PUFAs prevent cancer cell growth by suppressing both mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2.

The study suggests that that taking omega 3 fatty acid dietary supplements may help prevent endometrial cancer.

Zheng H, Tang H, Liu M, He M, Lai P, Dong H, Lin J, Jia C, Zhong M, Dai Y, Bai X, Wang L.  Inhibition of endometrial cancer by n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in preclinical models.  Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2014 May 27. pii: canprevres.0378.2013.