Altering Fatty Acid Levels in Diet May Reduce Prostate Cancer Growth Rate

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Altering Fatty Acid Levels in Diet May
Reduce Prostate Cancer Growth Rate
UCLA researchers found that altering the fatty acid ratio found in the typical Western diet to include
more omega-3 fatty acids and decrease the amount of omega-6 fatty acids may reduce prostate
cancer tumor growth rates and PSA levels.
Published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research, this initial animal-model study is
one of the first to show the impact of diet on lowering an inflammatory response known to promote prostate
cancer tumor progression and could lead to new treatment approaches.
The omega-6 fatty acids contained in corn, safflower oils and red meats are the predominant
polyunsaturated fatty acids in the Western diet. The healthier marine omega-3 fatty acids are found in
cold-water fish like salmon, tuna and sardines.
“Corn oil is the backbone of the American diet. We consume up to 20 times more omega-6 fatty acids in
our diet compared to omega-3 acids,” said principal investigator Dr. William Aronson, a professor in the
department of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a researcher with UCLA’s
Jonsson Cancer Center. “This study strongly suggests that eating a healthier ratio of these two types of fatty
acids may make a difference in reducing prostate cancer growth, but studies need to be conducted in
humans before any clinical recommendations can be made.”
Scientists used a special mouse model for hormone-sensitive prostate cancer that closely mirrors the disease
in humans. Researchers fed one group of mice a diet comprised of 20 percent fat with a healthy one-to-one
ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. A second group of mice were fed the same diet but with the fat
derived from mostly omega-6 fatty acids.
The study showed that tumor cell growth rates decreased by 22 percent and PSA levels were 77 percent
lower in the group receiving a healthier balance of fatty acids compared with the group that received
predominantly omega-6 fatty acids.
The most likely mechanism for the tumor reductions, according to researchers, was due to an increase of
the prostate tumor omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA and a lowering of theomega-6 acid known as
arachidonic acid. These three fatty acids compete to be converted by cyclooxgenase enzymes (COX-1 and
COX-2) into prostaglandins, which can become either pro-inflammatory and increase tumor growth, or
anti-inflammatory and reduce growth.
Researchers found that pro-inflammatory prostaglandin (PGE-2) levels were 83 percent lower in tumors in
the omega-3 group than in mice on the predominantly omega-6 fatty acid diet, demonstrating that higher
levels of DHA and EPA may lead to development of more anti-inflammatory prostaglandins.
“This is one of the first studies showing changes in diet can impact the inflammatory response that may
play a role in prostate cancer tumor growth,” Aronson said. “We may be able to use EPA and DHA
supplements while also reducing omega-6 fatty acids in the diet as a cancer prevention tool or possibly to
reduce progression in men with prostate cancer.”
Currently, the research team is conducting a clinical trial with men who are undergoing prostate removal
due to cancer to compare the effects of a low-fat diet using omega-3 supplements and a balanced Western
diet. Aronson said that positive findings from this study may lead to larger clinical trials.
"Altering Fatty Acid Levels in Diet May Reduce Prostate Cancer Growth Rate." PHYSorg.com. 1 Aug 2006.
www.physorg.com/news73661167.html

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In addition, Aronson said that further study might show that COX-2 inhibitors or non-steroidal
anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) combined with omega-3 supplements also may lower the inflammatory
response in prostate cancer development.
Source: University of California, Los Angeles
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"Altering Fatty Acid Levels in Diet May Reduce Prostate Cancer Growth Rate." PHYSorg.com. 1 Aug 2006.
www.physorg.com/news73661167.html

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