Sean Moloughney04.08.09
Diets high in omega 3 EPA and DHA may lower the risk of prostate cancer, especially for those with genetic predisposition, according to a study presented in Clinical Cancer Research.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, evaluated 466 men with aggressive prostate cancer and 478 healthy men, assessing their eating habits using a food frequency questionnaire. Subjects were also screened for a variant of a gene known as COX-2, which helps regulate inflammation in the body. A certain variant of this gene is known to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Results indicate that those men who ate dark, fatty fish one to three times per month had a 36% lower risk of prostate cancer compared to those who did not consume dark fish at all. Moreover, those who ate dark fish at least once a week had a 57% risk reduction. And those who consumed little to no omega 3 EPA/DHA and who also carried the specific COX-2 variant, were five times more likely to develop advanced prostate cancer. This association was essentially reversed with increasing consumption of omega 3 EPA/DHA.
“This study adds to the growing research that shows that regular omega 3 EPA/DHA consumption by men may lower their risk of developing prostate cancer,” said Lori Covert, vice president, Marketing and Communications, Ocean Nutrition Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. “This is definitely positive news.”
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men, with an estimated 24,700 men developing the disease in 2008. In the U.S., the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts and Figures 2008 lists prostate cancer as the most diagnosed cancer in American men. The society also ranks prostate cancer as the second most diagnosed and the sixth leading cause of death by cancer among men globally.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, evaluated 466 men with aggressive prostate cancer and 478 healthy men, assessing their eating habits using a food frequency questionnaire. Subjects were also screened for a variant of a gene known as COX-2, which helps regulate inflammation in the body. A certain variant of this gene is known to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Results indicate that those men who ate dark, fatty fish one to three times per month had a 36% lower risk of prostate cancer compared to those who did not consume dark fish at all. Moreover, those who ate dark fish at least once a week had a 57% risk reduction. And those who consumed little to no omega 3 EPA/DHA and who also carried the specific COX-2 variant, were five times more likely to develop advanced prostate cancer. This association was essentially reversed with increasing consumption of omega 3 EPA/DHA.
“This study adds to the growing research that shows that regular omega 3 EPA/DHA consumption by men may lower their risk of developing prostate cancer,” said Lori Covert, vice president, Marketing and Communications, Ocean Nutrition Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. “This is definitely positive news.”
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian men, with an estimated 24,700 men developing the disease in 2008. In the U.S., the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts and Figures 2008 lists prostate cancer as the most diagnosed cancer in American men. The society also ranks prostate cancer as the second most diagnosed and the sixth leading cause of death by cancer among men globally.