Israeli 'cancer shift' over heart disease mortality may be led by greater risk in women with high intake of n-6 fatty acids.
Shapira N.
Eur J Cancer Prev. 2007 Oct;16(5):486-94.
PMID: 17923822
doi: 10.1097/CEJ.0b013e3280145b6d
Population studies of Israeli Jews, Arabs, and women support the association of high n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake with increased cancer risk and higher female sensitivity. Research findings suggest that gender and sex hormones may influence n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and carcinogenesis. This appears to be the first time gender has been proposed to modulate national cancer epidemiology, suggesting implications for differential nutritional prevention, warranting further research.
Mice fed fish oil and curcumin showed a significantly reduced tumor volume, 25% (P < 0.04) and 43% (P < 0.005), respectively, and importantly, a combination of curcumin and fish oil diet showed > 72% (P < 0.0001) tumor volume reduction. Expression and activity of iNOS, COX-2, and 5-LOX are downregulated, and p21 is upregulated in tumor xenograft fed curcumin combined with fish oil diet when compared to individual diets. The preceding results evidence for the first time that curcumin combined with omega-3 fatty acids provide synergistic pancreatic tumor inhibitory properties.
Prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer by curcumin in combination with omega-3 fatty acids.
Swamy MV, Citineni B, Patlolla JM, Mohammed A, Zhang Y, Rao CV.
Nutr Cancer. 2008;60 Suppl 1:81-9.
PMID: 19003584
Modulation of prostate cancer genetic risk by omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Berquin IM, Min Y, Wu R, Wu J, Perry D, Cline JM, Thomas MJ, Thornburg T, Kulik G, Smith A, Edwards IJ, D'Agostino R, Zhang H, Wu H, Kang JX, Chen YQ.
J Clin Invest. 2007 Jul;117(7):1866-75.
PMID: 17607361
Our data suggest that modulation of prostate cancer development by polyunsaturated fatty acids is mediated in part through Bad-dependent apoptosis. This study highlights the importance of gene-diet interactions in prostate cancer.
Shannon J, King IB, Moshofsky R, Lampe JW, Li Gao D, Ray RM, Thomas DB.
Erythrocyte fatty acids and breast cancer risk: a case-control study in Shanghai, China.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Apr;85(4):1090-7.
PMID: 17413110 [PubMed - in process]
Simultaneously Blocking Glycolysis and Fat Metabolism
Can the use of DCA and a fatty acid metabolism blocker together force more cancer cells into using aerobic metabolism?
Tim McGough used green tea extract, which contains EGCG, in his fantastic response.
DCA works by reactivating mitochondria and shifts metabolism from glycolysis to glucose oxidation. Hopefully the cancer cell will then undergo apoptosis. However, cancer cells have an alternate energy source: fat metabolism. This page explores to possibility of blocking fat metabolism to help force the cell into apoptosis.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma is a cancer that does not respond well to DCA. This study, Head and Neck Cancer Cell Lines Are Resistant to Mitochondrial-Depolarization-Induced Apoptosis states:
"Results: ΔΨm in head and neck cell lines started to show slight loss of ΔΨm, while HL-60 showed significant loss of ΔΨm after 30 min of treatment. All cell lines demonstrated complete mitochondrial depolarization within 24 h, however, only the control cell line HL-60 underwent apoptosis. In addition, HNSCC cell lines did not demonstrate cytoplasmic cytochrome c release despite significant mitochondrial membrane depolarization, while HL-60 cell initiated apoptosis and cytochcrome c release after 24 h of treatment. Conclusions: Head and neck cancer cell lines exhibit defects in mitochondrial-membrane-depolarization-induced apoptosis as well as impaired release of cytochrome c despite significant mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Proximal defects in the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway are a feature of HNSCC.(head and neck squamous cell carcinoma)"
Note that although the cell lines were depolarized, apoptosis did not occur. So I checked to see if fatty acid metabolism is used by squamous cell carcinoma.
It was concluded that omega-3 fatty acid could inhibit the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990 cells and promote their apoptosis. The down-regulation of the cyclin E expression by omega-3 fatty acid might be one of the mechanisms for its anti-tumor effect on pancreatic cancer.
Modulatory effects of EPA and DHA on proliferation and apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells.
Zhang W, Long Y, Zhang J, Wang C.
J Huazhong Univ Sci Technolog Med Sci. 2007 Oct;27(5):547-50.
PMID: 18060632
"ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2009) - Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, primarily found in fish and seafood, may have a role in colorectal cancer prevention, according to results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Dec. 6-9, 2009, in Houston."
Multi-targeted therapy of cancer by omega-3 fatty acids.
Berquin IM, Edwards IJ, Chen YQ.
Cancer Lett. 2008 Oct 8;269(2):363-77. Epub 2008 May 13. Review.
PMID: 18479809
doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2008.03.044
Effects of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic n-3 fatty acids from fish oil and preferential Cox-2 inhibition on systemic syndromes in patients with advanced lung cancer.
Cerchietti LC, Navigante AH, Castro MA.
Nutr Cancer. 2007;59(1):14-20.
PMID: 17927497
Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids plus vitamin E restore immunodeficiency and prolong survival for severely ill patients with generalized malignancy: a randomized control trial.
Gogos CA, Ginopoulos P, Salsa B, Apostolidou E, Zoumbos NC, Kalfarentzos F.
Cancer. 1998 Jan 15;82(2):395-402.
PMID: 9445198
The effect of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on T-lymphocyte subsets of patients with solid tumors.
Gogos CA, Ginopoulos P, Zoumbos NC, Apostolidou E, Kalfarentzos F.
Cancer Detect Prev. 1995;19(5):415-7.
PMID: 7585727
Our findings suggest that administration of n-3 FA (EPA and DHA) in doses of at least 1.5 g/day for a prolonged period of time to patients with advanced cancer is associated with an improvement in clinical, biological and QoL parameters.
N-3 fatty acids, cancer and cachexia: a systematic review of the literature.
Colomer R, Moreno-Nogueira JM, García-Luna PP, García-Peris P, García-de-Lorenzo A, Zarazaga A, Quecedo L, del Llano J, Usán L, Casimiro C.
Br J Nutr. 2007 May;97(5):823-31. Review.
PMID: 17408522
doi:10.1017/S000711450765795X
Nutritional intervention with omega-3 Fatty acids in a case of\nmalignant fibrous histiocytoma of the lungs.
Pardini RS, Wilson D, Schiff S, Bajo SA, Pierce R.
Nutr Cancer. 2005;52(2):121-9.
PMID: 16201843
ScienceDaily (Apr. 10, 2009) - New research from Trinity College Dublin published in this month's Annals of Surgery points to a potentially significant advance in the treatment of patients undergoing major cancer surgery. The study was carried out by the oesophageal research group at Trinity College Dublin and St James's Hospital. A randomised controlled trial showed omega-3 fatty acids given as part of an oral nutritional supplement resulted in the preservation of muscle mass in patients undergoing surgery for oesopahageal cancer, a procedure normally associated with significant weight loss and quality of life issues.
Nutritional intervention with omega-3 Fatty acids in a case of
malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the lungs.
Pardini RS, Wilson D, Schiff S, Bajo SA, Pierce R.
Nutr Cancer. 2005;52(2):121-9.
PMID: 16201843
Opposing effects of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on
pancreatic cancer growth.
Funahashi H, Satake M, Hasan S, Sawai H, Newman RA, Reber HA,
Hines OJ, Eibl G.
Pancreas. 2008 May;36(4):353-62.
PMID: 18437081
doi: 10.1097/MPA.0b013e31815ccc44
This is a very long newsletter. I will answer questions about oil versus water-soluble Vitamin D, depression, mental clarity, malignant melanoma, Crohn's disease, an imagist poet, multiple sclerosis, sun-exposure, high-intensity red light and collagen repair in the skin, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, influenza, the 1918 influenza pandemic, statins, the new Food and Nutrition Board, thyroid disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, athletes, the upcoming 14th Vitamin D Workshop, prostate cancer, the wrong blood test, pregnancy, autism, Alzheimer's disease, soap and sebum, asthma, sleep, the co-factors vitamin D needs to work (all contained in spinach), and-my favorite-UVC light and Vitamin D
A new US study suggests that flaxseed, which is rich in omega 3 fatty acids and lignans, can stop prostate cancer tumours from growing.\n\nThe study was presented at the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago on
What is VITAL?
The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) is a research study in 20,000 U.S. men and women investigating whether taking daily dietary supplements of vitamin D (about 2000 IU) or fish oil (about 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids) reduces the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and stroke in people who do not have a prior history of these illnesses. Recruitment for the study will begin in January 2010.