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Fatty Oil in Fish May Help Reduce Tumors

Oil also made a chemotherapy drug more potent while limiting its harmful effects

 

Thursday, April 2 (Reuters) - An omega 3 fatty acid found in fish oils reduced

the size of tumors in mice and made a chemotherapy drug more potent while

limiting its harmful effects, Egyptian researchers reported on Thursday.

 

The findings, published in publisher BioMed Central's peer-reviewed Cell

Division journal, add to evidence showing a range of health benefits from eating

the fatty acids found in foods such as salmon.

 

A.M. El-Mowafy and colleagues from Mansoura University in Egypt looked at how an

omega 3 fatty acid called docosahexanoic acid, or DHA, affected solid tumors

growing in mice and how well it interacted with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin.

 

" Our results suggest a new, fruitful drug regimen in the management of solid

tumors based on combining cisplatin and possibly other chemotherapeutics with

DHA, " El-Mowafy said in a statement.

 

" DHA elicited prominent chemo-preventative effects on its own, and appreciably

augmented those of cisplatin as well. "

 

In March, U.S. researchers showed that a diet high in omega 3 fatty acids -- the

kind found in fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines -- protected

against advanced prostate cancer even in men more at risk of the disease. (See

article.)

 

The fatty acids, also found in foods such as walnuts and leafy greens, have been

shown to provide an anti-inflammatory effect and have been linked to a lower

risk of heart disease.

 

In their study, El-Mowafy's team found that, at the molecular level, DHA reduces

the accumulation of white blood cells, systemic inflammation, and a harmful

condition marked by decreased antioxidant levels -- all of which have been

linked to tumor growth.

 

Their experiment also showed that the fatty acid reduced toxicity and injury to

kidney tissue caused by the chemotherapy drug, the researchers said.

 

-Dave