Fish oil supplements can slow growth of prostrate cancer

Britain’s leading daily newspaper The Daily Mail recently reported that a low fat diet combined with fish oil supplements can slow the growth of prostate cancer. According to the newspaper, one of Britain’s highly respected dailies, scientists in the US made the discovery following the testing of prostate tissue samples taken from patients.

Scientists found that after just four to six weeks, the cancer cells reduced considerably, following the patients having been on fish oil supplements continuously. However, the same effect was not observed on the patients who were on fish oil supplements but a typical Western diet.

According to Professor William Aronson, who led the study at the University of California in Los Angeles, the fact that a low-fat diet combined with fish oil supplements reduced the number of rapidly dividing cells in the prostate cancer tissue represents an important milestone in the fight against cancer. It also enables medical professionals to be predictive of the rate at which the cells will divide in future cancer progression.

In the study, scientists studied blood samples before and after the diet commenced and also studied tissue from surgically removed prostate glands. The changes indicative of the diet and supplements the patients were on, were clearly present in the prostate issue, according to the study.

The study seemed to confirm that the diet appeared to alter the fatty acid composition of prostate cell membranes. Similar results have been recorded from lab cell cultures and animals, before the study commenced.    

“Lower the rate of proliferation , the lesser chances of the cancer spreading outside the prostate, where it would be harder to detect and treat.” confirmed Prof. Aronson whose research appeared first in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

“You are truly what you eat. Based on our studies on animals, we believe we could see the same results in humans. We are pleased about our findings which confirm that by making changes to our diet, we may be able to favourably affect the biology of prostate gland cancer,” said Dr. Aronson.

Those who took part in the study but were on a western diet, obtained 40% of their calories from fat. Their intake was based on typical diets consumed in developed countries and included high levels of omega 6 fatty acids from corn oil. However, the typical western diet contained low amounts of fish oil which provided omega 3 fatty acids, considered as vital for the body’s growth.

In contrast, in the low fat diet, a mere 15% calories came from fat. The men who were on the low fat diet also took five grams of fish oil per day in the form of five capsules.     

The preclinical studies suggest lowering dietary omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil while increasing omega-3 fatty acids obtained from fish oil, decreases the risk of prostate cancer development and progression, the scientists wrote,

‘We have found that the combination of a low fat diet together with daily consumption of fish oil capsules rich on omega 3 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.’

However, due to the short duration and small size of the study, Prof. Aronson said he could not recommend dietary changes.

Prof. Aronson plans a larger study involving 100 patients who are not being actively treated but are receiving regular biopsies and check ups. He believes that the study may take a year to evaluate the effects of a low fat diet combined with fish oil supplements on the growth of prostate cancer when compared against a regular western diet.

The Daily Mail also added that each year, about 36,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer while 10,000 die from the disease.