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In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers found that mice missing a key prostate cancer tumor suppressor gene were much more likely to survive with a high omega-3 fat, low omega-6 fat diet.

Specifically, survival rates in the study were:

• 60% for the mice fed a high omega-3 fat diet (1-to-1 omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratio)
• 10% for the mice fed a low omega-3 fat diet (20-to-1 omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratio)
• 0% for the mice fed a high omega-6 fat diet (40-to-1 omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratio)

In addition to improving survival times, omega-3 fatty acids slowed both the progression of cancer cell formation and tumor growth.

As one of the study’s co-authors notes, the implications are significant:

“This suggests that if you have good genes, it may not matter too much what you eat,” said Chen, a professor of cancer biology. “But if you have a gene that makes you susceptible to prostate cancer, your diet can tip the balance. Our data demonstrate the importance of gene-diet interactions, and that genetic cancer risk can be modified favorable by omega-3 PUFA.”

The bad news: The tumor suppressor gene absent in the mice in this study is estimated to be missing in 60% to 70% of human metastatic cancers. So, counting on good genes may not be a good bet.

The good news: Since prostate cancer cells are typically slow-growing, improving the omega-3 / omega-6 fat intake balance is one factor that may play an important role in determining whether one ultimately develops the disease.

Possible Mechanism

As discussed in an earlier post, a higher omega-3 / omega-6 fat intake tends to promote the production of anti-inflammatory immune system modulators (e.g., prostaglandin PGE-3), while a high omega-6 / omega-3 fat intake tends to promote the production of pro-inflammatory substances (e.g., prostaglandin PGE-2 and cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha).

This mechanism is supported by earlier research that found an 83% reduction in PGE-2 levels, as well as reduced cancer cell proliferation and greater apoptosis (cell death), in mice fed a high omega-3 fat diet (1-to-1 omega-3 to omega-6 fat ratio).

What You Can Do

Historically, people eating a hunter-gatherer type of diet consumed about 2 to 3 times the amount of omega-6 fats relative to omega-3 fats. Today, in most Western diets, largely as the result of higher intake of refined vegetable oils in packaged and restaurant-prepared foods, that ratio is more like 15 to 20 to one.

Omega-3 fats are found primarily in fish oil and flaxseed oil (although only fish oil has the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA in their final bioavailable forms). Omega-6 fats are found primarily in the diet in vegetable oils, such as soybean, corn, sunflower, and safflower oil, and also in the form of arachidonic acid in meat, dairy, and eggs.

Taking a fish oil supplement that has been tested for contaminants and reducing the consumption of foods prepared using vegetable oils are two ways to help restore a more normal immune response. Improving the omega-3 / omega-6 intake balance just may help you or someone you know avoid or delay developing prostate cancer.

For more on getting help putting together a complete nutrition program for preventing or supporting the treatment of prostate cancer, please visit my main website.

Related Posts

Link Between Inflammation and Cancer

High Omega-6 to Omega-3 Fat Intake Tied to Inflammation and Depression

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Marc Joseph Nutrition

This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 2:14 am and is filed under Cancer, Prostate Issues, Essential Fatty Acids - EFAs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.