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Led by Professor Emile Voest, a medical oncologist at the Netherlands' University Medical Centre Utrecht, the researchers work with mice led them to conclude that omega-3 and omega-6 rich products like fish oil supplements should be avoided by those in chemotherapy treatment.
"Where resistance to chemotherapy is concerned, we usually believe that changes in the cancer cells themselves have occurred. Now we show that the body itself secretes protective substances into the blood that are powerful enough to block the effect of chemotherapy," said Professor Voest.
"These substances can be found in some types of fish oil."
Puzzle
But Harry Rice, PhD, vice president in regulatory and scientific affairs at the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED), said the evidence was far from conclusive.
“Advice to abstain from fish oil during chemotherapy should not be based on results from the most recent research conducted in animals,” Rice said.
“Likewise, advice to take fish oil during chemotherapy should not be based on results from studies like the one published last month in which fish oil supplementation increased chemotherapy efficacy in patients with advanced lung cancer. Results from each study are like puzzle pieces."
"Only when the puzzle approaches completion can sound advice be given. This puzzle is far from complete.”
The researchers focused on a form of chemo called cisplatin, typically used to treat lung, bladder, ovarian and testicular cancer.
Writing in the journal Cancer Cell, they found that platinum-induced fatty acids (PIFAs) produced by bodily stem cells inhibited cisplatin treatments, and a similar effect was observed in mice fed, "normal amounts of fish oil,".
In light of the research, Cancer Research UK advised cancer patients to consult with doctors.
“We demonstrate that endogenous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) become activated during treatment with platinum analogs and secrete factors that protect tumor cells against a range of chemotherapeutics,” the researchers said.
“Through a metabolomics approach, we identified two distinct platinum-induced polyunsaturated fatty acids … that in minute quantities induce resistance to a broad spectrum of chemotherapeutic agents. Our findings show that MSCs are potent mediators of resistance to chemotherapy and reveal targets to enhance chemotherapy efficacy in patients.”
Source:
Cancer Cell
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071
‘Mesenchymal Stem Cells Induce Resistance to Chemotherapy through the Release of Platinum-Induced Fatty Acids’
Authors: Voest, E. et al
4 comments (Comments are now closed)
Eat The Fatty Acids And Throw Out the Cancer Treatment
I would rather eat nutritious food and skip the treatment. Giving up nutrients in favor of a poison is absurd. It´s the same with statins. A person taking statins cannot eat green, leafy vegetables because the vegetables increase effect of the statins. Why not simply eat the green, leafy vegetables in the right quantity? It would certainly be cheaper, and vegetables provide other nutrients that statins do not.
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Posted by Chamanit
21 September 2011 | 23h53
fatty acids can reduce cancer
Not when used in cooking I belief.
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Posted by harry
20 September 2011 | 17h06
Concerning Conspiracy
Quote: So why do we accept a poorer quality of evidence for negative studies?
Answer: The powers that be have no wish for ANY supplements to be of use in medicine. NONE. PERIOD. Until you accept this well known fact / Codex then you will continue to question the obvious. Imho.
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Posted by Tom Hennessy
14 September 2011 | 16h44
Would EFSA accept claims on mice?
As ever, I am shocked that researchers (and indeed Cancer Research UK) would base advice to vulnerable cancer patients on a study in mice. If this study were, instead, trying to prove a health benefit for humans, it would certainly be rejected by EFSA. So why do we accept a poorer quality of evidence for negative studies?
There may be potential risks if cancer patients cut oily fish or fish oil supplements out of the their diets as long chain n3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory effects, and may help to prevent cognitive decline in older people. This has not been considered by those involved. Cancer patients deserve better, and the researchers should prove their concept in human trials before dishing out advice to patients.
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Posted by Carrie Ruxton PhD RD
14 September 2011 | 12h04
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