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Fish Fat Find

Written by Zoe Dunford

Tuesday, 15 April 2008

A fatty acid from fish may help prevent a pre-cancerous condition from developing further. A high consumption of fish is associated in some studies with a reduced risk of oesophageal cancer. The n-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) inhibits an enzyme that is associated with the cancer.  “Regular, relatively small doses of EPA produced an effect in human patients”, said Professor Ian Johnson of the Institute of Food Research. “A higher or more prolonged level of supplementation may have a role to play in correcting pre-cancerous changes in cells and tissues”. Esophageal cancer rates are increasing faster than any other malignancy. The prognosis for patients is poor as it is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. The average survival time is less than a year. Far better then to find ways to prevent it developing. Most esophageal cancers arise from a condition called Barrett’s esophagus. The enzyme cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 is upregulated in both Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer. The focus of number of trials is therefore to inhibit COX-2. In the current study, supplementation with EPA over six months did significantly decrease COX-2 levels in Barrett’s esophagus patients. There was no clear evidence that EPA had any effect on cell proliferation, another pre-cancerous change, but it is difficult to measure proliferation in Barrett’s biopsies. “Our results provide a good reason for further studies into the anticancer effects of fish oils”, said Professor Johnson.  The research was conducted in collaboration with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and was funded by IFR’s Core Strategic Grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council with support from the NHS and SLA Pharma. <ends> Contacts IFR Press Office Zoe Dunford, Tel: 01603 255111, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Andrew Chapple, Tel: 01603 251490, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Notes to editors Full reference for the paper: Effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on Barrett’s epithelium in the human lower esophagus Vol. 87, No. 4, 949-956, April 2008 The mission of the Institute of Food Research (www.ifr.ac.uk ) is to undertake international quality scientific research relevant to food and human health and to work in partnership with others to provide underpinning science for consumers, policy makers, the food industry and academia. It is a company limited by guarantee, with charitable status, grant aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (www.bbsrc.ac.uk ).

 

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