The July 8, 2010 edition of the American Association for Cancer Research's journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention reports a protective effect of fish oil supplements against cancer of the breast. The Standard American Diet (SAD) does not contain sufficient amounts of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil.
The fish oil study used 35,016 postmenopausal women who were members of a long-term study group called the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) Cohort. Questionnaires the women completed from 2000 to 2002 provided information concerning the frequency and duration of use of various supplements including fish oil and herbs for menopausal symptoms, such as black cohosh.
After six years, 880 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed among the women studied. Those who had reported regular use of fish oil supplements had a 32 percent lower risk of invasive ductal breast cancer, the most common form of the disease, than those who did not report using fish oil. Other supplements and herbs had no apparent effect on risk, based on the study data.
The study is the first to reveal an association between supplementing with fish oil and a decrease in breast cancer risk. Further studies are required to establish the biochemical mechanism behind the relationship between fish oil and cancer.
Animal studies have shown that metastasis, the process by which tumor cells spread to other parts of the body is inhibited by fish oil but increased by a high intake of omega-6 fatty acids (i.e., corn oil). These studies used mice implanted with human breast cancer and fed a high fish oil diet. The result was significantly reduced human breast cancer cell metastasis to the regional lymph nodes and lungs.
Over 40% of cancer patients in some parts of the world die from malnutrition, a wasting disease called cachexia, not from cancer itself. Patients with cachexia are extremely weak and emaciated. Researchers in England found that fish oil could significantly prevent cachexia in an experimental model. Feeding the animals a high fish oil diet (compared to either a low fat diet or a high corn oil diet), significantly decreased the loss of body weight caused by cachexia, and at the same time, muscle mass was significantly increased.
While it is too early to conclude that fish oil is useful in treating patients with breast cancers, fish oil has been shown in animal studies to have an inhibitory effect on cancers. It has also been shown to protect against some of the damage of conventional chemotherapy so its use by cancer patients may be advisable if the medical professionals agree.
Please note: The information here is not to be followed as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with your physician or primary health practitioner for information regarding your own personal health and necessary treatments.
