Examining if Omega-3 Fatty Acids Could Lower Breast Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Obese Women

By Wuhazet (Henryk ?ychowski) (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/l

Omega-3 fatty acids may lower the risk of breast cancer in obese postmenopausal women, according to new research from Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The protection most likely stems from the fatty acids anti-inflammatory properties, says authors of the study.

The Study

Dr. Andrea Manni, professor and division chief of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Penn State College of Medicine said, “Omega-3 fatty acids have an anti-inflammatory effect, so that’s one of the reasons why we suspected it may be particularly effective in obese women.”

Obesity is a major risk factor in breast cancer in postmenopausal women, and scientists think increased inflammation in the body is an important underlying cause in this particular population.

Some epidemiological study data supports the theory that omega-3 fatty acids protect against breast cancer, but the findings have not been consistent. Dr. Manni suspects that data from normal weight women obscured the results of the statistics.

Women of a normal weight experience less inflammation than women of a higher weight, and are therefore less likely to benefit from the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3s.

To review the effects, Dr. Manni’s team worked with other researchers from Emory University and Colorado State University. The teams looked at the influence of prescription omega-3 supplements on breast density in women of different weights. Breast density is a well-established biomarker for a woman’s risk of breast cancer, and it could be an independent risk factor too.
Manni stated, “The higher the breast density, the more likely a woman will develop breast cancer.”

The study included 265 healthy postmenopausal women with high breast density detected through the use of routine mammograms. The women either got no treatment, the antiestrogen drug Raloxifene, the prescription omega-3 drug Lovaza or a combination of the two medications.
At the conclusion of a two year study, the team found that increasing a woman’s levels of omega-3 in the blood was associated with a reduction of breast density, but only in women who were borderline obese.

Although Lovaza has both fatty acids DHA and EPA, only DHA blood levels were associated with breast density reduction. The team plans on testing the effects of DHA alone in obese subjects, in combination with a weight loss trial, in a future study.

Manni said, “The finding supports the idea that omega-3s, specifically DHA, are preferentially protective in obese postmenopausal women. This represents an example of a personalized approach to breast cancer prevention.”
The findings could also help support future studies that are looking at the direct effect of omega-3 supplements on breast cancer incidences in obese women.

Conclusion:

With obesity related cancers on the rise, the findings of this study could have far reaching implications beyond breast cancer.

The research team also made a secondary discovery. Lovaza is an omega-3 drug that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treating severe high triglycerides at a dose of 4 milligrams.

 

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