Omega-3 and prostate cancer

A diet high in omega-3 fatty acids offers protection against advanced prostate cancer, even in men who carry a particular variant in the COX-2 gene that is known to raise the risk of the disease. Previous research has shown protection (by omega-3 fatty acids) against prostate cancer, but this is one of the first studies to show protection against advanced prostate cancer and interaction with COX-2. Researchers from America studied 466 men diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer and 478 healthy matched controls. They assessed diet using a 'food frequency' questionnaire and analysed the genes of men for nine COX-2 variants. It was found that increasing intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids - the kind found in dark fish, like salmon, and shellfish - was strongly associated with a reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Men who consumed the most long-chain omega-3 fatty acids had a 63 percent reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer compared to men who consumed the least. Importantly, this protective effect was even stronger in men who carried a COX-2 variant, that is a risk factor for prostate cancer. Specifically, men with low intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and this particular variant had a more than fivefold risk of advanced prostate cancer. But men with high intake of omega-3 fatty acids had a substantially reduced risk, even if they carried the COX-2 variant.