Omega-3 and Omega-6 Boost Breast Cancer Treatment
December 13, 2004
SAN ANTONIO (Ivanhoe Newswire) —A new study shows a diet rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may enhance response to the drug tamoxifen in breast cancer patients.
Tamoxifen resistance is the underlying cause of treatment failure in many patients with breast cancer. Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio studied mice to determine the effects of a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
The animals were divided into four groups. The first received a diet rich in omega-6 fatty acids with a placebo. The second received a diet rich in omega-6 fatty acids along with the drug tamoxifen. The third received a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids along with a placebo. The fourth received a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids along with tamoxifen treatment.
Results show animals that received a diet rich in omega-6 fatty acids and tamoxifen had a 66-percent tumor growth inhibition when compared to those on placebo. Mice on the diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids and a placebo had about a 48-percent tumor growth inhibition. Those that received a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids along with tamoxifen had a nearly 80-percent tumor growth inhibition.
Authors of the study conclude, “These results have significant clinical implications, suggesting that dietary interventions could be effective at enhancing therapeutic response to a subset of breast cancer tumors resistant to endocrine therapy due to aberrant growth factor signaling.”
SOURCE: Julie Monheim at the 27th annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in San Antonio, Dec. 8-11, 2004