Fish oil supplements 'can slow growth of prostate cancer cells in just four weeks'
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:47 AM on 26th October 2011
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A low-fat diet with fish oil supplements can slow down the growth of prostate cancer, research has shown.
Scientists in the U.S. made the discovery after testing prostate tissue samples taken from men with the disease.
They found that just four to six weeks on the diet was enough to reduce the growth of cancer cells.
Lifesaver? An American study has found that fish oil supplements can slow the growth of prostate cancer
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The same effect was not seen in men who remained on a regular Western diet with no fish oil supplements.
Study leader Professor William Aronson, from the University of California at Los Angeles, said: 'The finding that the low-fat, fish oil diet reduced the number of rapidly dividing cells in the prostate cancer tissue is important because the rate at which the cells are dividing can be predictive of future cancer progression.
'The lower the rate of proliferation, the lesser the chances that the cancer will spread outside the prostate, where it is much harder to treat.'
The findings appear in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.
The scientists tested blood samples before and after the diet commenced, and examined tissue from surgically removed prostate glands.
Changes prompted by what the men were eating were clearly evident in the prostate tissue, said Prof Aronson.
The diet appeared to alter the fatty acid composition of prostate cell membranes.
Similar results were previously obtained from laboratory cell cultures and animals.
'You truly are what you eat,' said Prof Aronson.
'Based on our animal studies, we were hopeful that we would see the same effects in humans. We are extremely pleased about our findings, which suggest that by altering the diet, we may favourably affect the biology of prostate cancer.'
You are what you eat: Professor William Aronson said his team were extremely pleased that their findings could suggest a change in diet would affect the biology of prostate cancer
Study participants on the Western diet obtained 40 per cent of their calories from fat. Food sources were typical of diets in well-off countries and included high levels of omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil. Levels of fish oil, which provide omega-3 fatty acids, were low.
The low-fat diet relied on fat to provide just 15% of calories. Men on the diet also took five grams of fish oil per day in five capsules.
'Preclinical studies suggest that lowering dietary omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil and increasing omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreases the risk of prostate cancer development and progression,' the scientists wrote.
'We found this diet intervention resulted in a decrease in omega-6 versus omega-3 fatty acid ratios in benign and malignant prostate tissue and a decrease in malignant cell proliferation.'
Prof Aronson said the short duration and small size of the study meant he could not recommend dietary changes.
He is now planning a larger study of 100 men with prostate cancers who were not being actively treated but receiving regular biopsies and check-ups.
The study will take a year to evaluate the effects of a low fat diet, Western diet, or fish oil supplements on prostate cancer growth.
Each year around 36,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10,000 die from the disease.
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.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2053535/Fish-oil-supplements-slow-prostate-cancer-growth.html#ixzz1bwjrKDHG
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:47 AM on 26th October 2011
=================================================
A low-fat diet with fish oil supplements can slow down the growth of prostate cancer, research has shown.
Scientists in the U.S. made the discovery after testing prostate tissue samples taken from men with the disease.
They found that just four to six weeks on the diet was enough to reduce the growth of cancer cells.
Lifesaver? An American study has found that fish oil supplements can slow the growth of prostate cancer
=======================================
The same effect was not seen in men who remained on a regular Western diet with no fish oil supplements.
Study leader Professor William Aronson, from the University of California at Los Angeles, said: 'The finding that the low-fat, fish oil diet reduced the number of rapidly dividing cells in the prostate cancer tissue is important because the rate at which the cells are dividing can be predictive of future cancer progression.
'The lower the rate of proliferation, the lesser the chances that the cancer will spread outside the prostate, where it is much harder to treat.'
The findings appear in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.
The scientists tested blood samples before and after the diet commenced, and examined tissue from surgically removed prostate glands.
Changes prompted by what the men were eating were clearly evident in the prostate tissue, said Prof Aronson.
The diet appeared to alter the fatty acid composition of prostate cell membranes.
Similar results were previously obtained from laboratory cell cultures and animals.
'You truly are what you eat,' said Prof Aronson.
'Based on our animal studies, we were hopeful that we would see the same effects in humans. We are extremely pleased about our findings, which suggest that by altering the diet, we may favourably affect the biology of prostate cancer.'
You are what you eat: Professor William Aronson said his team were extremely pleased that their findings could suggest a change in diet would affect the biology of prostate cancer
Study participants on the Western diet obtained 40 per cent of their calories from fat. Food sources were typical of diets in well-off countries and included high levels of omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil. Levels of fish oil, which provide omega-3 fatty acids, were low.
The low-fat diet relied on fat to provide just 15% of calories. Men on the diet also took five grams of fish oil per day in five capsules.
'Preclinical studies suggest that lowering dietary omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil and increasing omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil decreases the risk of prostate cancer development and progression,' the scientists wrote.
'We found this diet intervention resulted in a decrease in omega-6 versus omega-3 fatty acid ratios in benign and malignant prostate tissue and a decrease in malignant cell proliferation.'
Prof Aronson said the short duration and small size of the study meant he could not recommend dietary changes.
He is now planning a larger study of 100 men with prostate cancers who were not being actively treated but receiving regular biopsies and check-ups.
The study will take a year to evaluate the effects of a low fat diet, Western diet, or fish oil supplements on prostate cancer growth.
Each year around 36,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10,000 die from the disease.
=================================================
.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2053535/Fish-oil-supplements-slow-prostate-cancer-growth.html#ixzz1bwjrKDHG
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