Fish Oil's Breast Cancer Benefits May Vary
Omega-3 Fatty Acids' Protection Against Breast Cancer May Depend on Women's Genes
Sept. 23, 2004 -- Fish oil's protective effects against breast cancer may vary according to a woman's genetic makeup, according to a new study.
Previous research has shown that women who eat a diet rich in fatty fish, such as salmon and mackerel, that contain omega-3 fatty acids are about a third less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than women who seldom eat fatty fish.
But in this study, researchers found that women with a particular gene, which breaks down omega-3 fatty acids (also known as marine n-3 fatty acids), had a lower risk of breast cancer. The abnormal gene pattern allowed the fatty acid to stay in their system longer.
"In this study, we found that women with certain common DNA patterns experienced more breast cancer protection from marine n-3 fatty acids than women with other common patterns," says researcher Manuela Gago-Dominguez, MD, PhD, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of at the University of Southern California, in a news release.
Researchers say that the findings show that by-products of fish oils created in the body may be largely responsible for the cancer-fighting properties attributed to omega-3 fatty acids.
For the study, researchers studied data collected in the Singapore Chinese Health Study, which involved more than 63,000 men and women in Singapore. The results appear in a recent issue of Carcinogenesis.
Previous analysis of the same data showed that women who ate the most omega-3 fatty acids were 34% less likely to get breastcancer than those who ate the least.
But researchers suspected that the amounts of modified fat products from marine fatty acid were behind the anticancer effects. Certain substances called GSTs help the body flush out and get rid of these products, and each person has different varieties of the genes responsible for making these substances.
In this study, researchers looked at the genetic makeup of the participants and grouped them according to the genes they had for the production of GSTs.
They found that women who had genes that prompted a low level of activity from certain GSTs had a 64%-74% lower risk of cancer. But in women with genes that prompted high levels of GST production, researchers found no evidence that fish oils reduced breast cancer risk.
Gago-Dominguez says those results are in line with previous studies that have shown cancer growth is stalled by omega-3 fatty acid by-products and may lead to a better understanding of how to kill cancer cells.
Fish Oil's Breast Cancer Benefits May Vary
Omega-3 Fatty Acids' Protection Against Breast Cancer May Depend on Women's Genes
Sept. 23, 2004 -- Fish oil's protective effects against breast cancer may vary according to a woman's genetic makeup, according to a new study.
Previous research has shown that women who eat a diet rich in fatty fish, such as salmon and mackerel, that contain omega-3 fatty acids are about a third less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than women who seldom eat fatty fish.
But in this study, researchers found that women with a particular gene, which breaks down omega-3 fatty acids (also known as marine n-3 fatty acids), had a lower risk of breast cancer. The abnormal gene pattern allowed the fatty acid to stay in their system longer.
"In this study, we found that women with certain common DNA patterns experienced more breast cancer protection from marine n-3 fatty acids than women with other common patterns," says researcher Manuela Gago-Dominguez, MD, PhD, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of at the University of Southern California, in a news release.
Researchers say that the findings show that by-products of fish oils created in the body may be largely responsible for the cancer-fighting properties attributed to omega-3 fatty acids.
Fish Oil's Effects Depend on Genes
For the study, researchers studied data collected in the Singapore Chinese Health Study, which involved more than 63,000 men and women in Singapore. The results appear in a recent issue of Carcinogenesis.
Previous analysis of the same data showed that women who ate the most omega-3 fatty acids were 34% less likely to get breastcancer than those who ate the least.
But researchers suspected that the amounts of modified fat products from marine fatty acid were behind the anticancer effects. Certain substances called GSTs help the body flush out and get rid of these products, and each person has different varieties of the genes responsible for making these substances.
In this study, researchers looked at the genetic makeup of the participants and grouped them according to the genes they had for the production of GSTs.
They found that women who had genes that prompted a low level of activity from certain GSTs had a 64%-74% lower risk of cancer. But in women with genes that prompted high levels of GST production, researchers found no evidence that fish oils reduced breast cancer risk.
Gago-Dominguez says those results are in line with previous studies that have shown cancer growth is stalled by omega-3 fatty acid by-products and may lead to a better understanding of how to kill cancer cells.
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