Omega-3 Fatty Acids Slow or Stop Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells, Cell Growth Reduced By 90%

Omega-3 fatty acids work against all types of cancer cells but are far more effective in stopping or slowing the rapid reproduction of breast cancer triple negative cells.

In highlighting how important it is to eat foods that contain the compounds to stave off cancer, one of the researchers, Thomas J. Pogash, said, “Diet can play a critical role in breast cancer prevention. When you compare a western diet to a mediterranean diet, which has more omega-3s, you see less cancer in the mediterranean diet. They eat much more fish.”

While there are earlier studies that have shown the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in targeting cancer cells that are responsible for both proliferation as well as apoptosis.

Currently, there is no distinct therapy for breast cancer since it is different for different people and in particular, at the molecular level. This is why standard therapy for breast cancer in its early stages usually involves combination chemotherapies, and which is why the response to therapy differs from person to person.

The scientists, in their research, wanted to check the impact of large omega-3 parent cells and their metabolic derivatives on three luminal cell lines and seven basal-type triple negative cell lines.

What they found was that while these omega-3 cells stop or slow down proliferation in all types of cancerous cells, they were very effective in the proliferation of triple-negative cell lines by almost 90%.

They presented these findings at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, which was a combination of researchers from the Pennsylvania State University and the Fox Chase Cancer Center.