Fish oil may boost the effectiveness of a common treatment for breast cancer, re

[Guest guest]

Fish oil may boost the effectiveness of a common treatment for breast cancer, research suggests.

In tests on rats, it appeared to combat cancer at the genetic level, making tumours more responsive to the drug tamoxifen.

The widely used drug works by blocking the female hormone oestrogen's ability to fuel breast cancer.

Omega-3 fatty acids, abundant in fish oil, could prove to be a safe and beneficial booster for tamoxifen therapy, said the US researchers presenting their work at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida.

Rats with breast cancer were fed either a 17% fish oil diet or a 20% corn oil diet for eight weeks. In each case the oil supplement was given with or without tamoxifen.

Analysis of the tumours showed that omega-3 fatty acids in the fish oil increased the activity of genes promoting cellular specialisation, or differentiation.

This indicates an anti-cancer effect, since cancer cells are highly undifferentiated. Combining fish oil and tamoxifen also reduced the activity of genes linked to tumour growth and cancer spread.

Study leader Dr Russo, director of the Breast Cancer Research Laboratory at Fox Chase Cancer Centre, Philadelphia, said: "If a tumour was being treated with tamoxifen, the addition of an omega-3 fatty acid diet seemed to make the tumour, at least at the molecular level, more benign and less aggressive and responsive to tamoxifen."

But scientists cautioned that more studies were needed to investigate the effects of fish oil on the immune system.

Omega-3 fatty acids boosted genes that played a role in immune defences against cancer. But they also seemed to activate genes that trigger unwanted immune responses, such as inflammation and allergic reactions, which can promote cancer.

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

[Guest guest]

Fish oil may boost the effectiveness of a common treatment for breast cancer, research suggests.

In tests on rats, it appeared to combat cancer at the genetic level, making tumours more responsive to the drug tamoxifen.

The widely used drug works by blocking the female hormone oestrogen's ability to fuel breast cancer.

Omega-3 fatty acids, abundant in fish oil, could prove to be a safe and beneficial booster for tamoxifen therapy, said the US researchers presenting their work at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida.

Rats with breast cancer were fed either a 17% fish oil diet or a 20% corn oil diet for eight weeks. In each case the oil supplement was given with or without tamoxifen.

Analysis of the tumours showed that omega-3 fatty acids in the fish oil increased the activity of genes promoting cellular specialisation, or differentiation.

This indicates an anti-cancer effect, since cancer cells are highly undifferentiated. Combining fish oil and tamoxifen also reduced the activity of genes linked to tumour growth and cancer spread.

Study leader Dr Russo, director of the Breast Cancer Research Laboratory at Fox Chase Cancer Centre, Philadelphia, said: "If a tumour was being treated with tamoxifen, the addition of an omega-3 fatty acid diet seemed to make the tumour, at least at the molecular level, more benign and less aggressive and responsive to tamoxifen."

But scientists cautioned that more studies were needed to investigate the effects of fish oil on the immune system.

Omega-3 fatty acids boosted genes that played a role in immune defences against cancer. But they also seemed to activate genes that trigger unwanted immune responses, such as inflammation and allergic reactions, which can promote cancer.

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

[Guest guest]

Fish oil may boost the effectiveness of a common treatment for breast cancer, research suggests.

In tests on rats, it appeared to combat cancer at the genetic level, making tumours more responsive to the drug tamoxifen.

The widely used drug works by blocking the female hormone oestrogen's ability to fuel breast cancer.

Omega-3 fatty acids, abundant in fish oil, could prove to be a safe and beneficial booster for tamoxifen therapy, said the US researchers presenting their work at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida.

Rats with breast cancer were fed either a 17% fish oil diet or a 20% corn oil diet for eight weeks. In each case the oil supplement was given with or without tamoxifen.

Analysis of the tumours showed that omega-3 fatty acids in the fish oil increased the activity of genes promoting cellular specialisation, or differentiation.

This indicates an anti-cancer effect, since cancer cells are highly undifferentiated. Combining fish oil and tamoxifen also reduced the activity of genes linked to tumour growth and cancer spread.

Study leader Dr Russo, director of the Breast Cancer Research Laboratory at Fox Chase Cancer Centre, Philadelphia, said: "If a tumour was being treated with tamoxifen, the addition of an omega-3 fatty acid diet seemed to make the tumour, at least at the molecular level, more benign and less aggressive and responsive to tamoxifen."

But scientists cautioned that more studies were needed to investigate the effects of fish oil on the immune system.

Omega-3 fatty acids boosted genes that played a role in immune defences against cancer. But they also seemed to activate genes that trigger unwanted immune responses, such as inflammation and allergic reactions, which can promote cancer.

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

[Guest guest]

Fish oil may boost the effectiveness of a common treatment for breast cancer, research suggests.

In tests on rats, it appeared to combat cancer at the genetic level, making tumours more responsive to the drug tamoxifen.

The widely used drug works by blocking the female hormone oestrogen's ability to fuel breast cancer.

Omega-3 fatty acids, abundant in fish oil, could prove to be a safe and beneficial booster for tamoxifen therapy, said the US researchers presenting their work at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida.

Rats with breast cancer were fed either a 17% fish oil diet or a 20% corn oil diet for eight weeks. In each case the oil supplement was given with or without tamoxifen.

Analysis of the tumours showed that omega-3 fatty acids in the fish oil increased the activity of genes promoting cellular specialisation, or differentiation.

This indicates an anti-cancer effect, since cancer cells are highly undifferentiated. Combining fish oil and tamoxifen also reduced the activity of genes linked to tumour growth and cancer spread.

Study leader Dr Russo, director of the Breast Cancer Research Laboratory at Fox Chase Cancer Centre, Philadelphia, said: "If a tumour was being treated with tamoxifen, the addition of an omega-3 fatty acid diet seemed to make the tumour, at least at the molecular level, more benign and less aggressive and responsive to tamoxifen."

But scientists cautioned that more studies were needed to investigate the effects of fish oil on the immune system.

Omega-3 fatty acids boosted genes that played a role in immune defences against cancer. But they also seemed to activate genes that trigger unwanted immune responses, such as inflammation and allergic reactions, which can promote cancer.

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.