Omega-6 FA Link To Cancer

The latest research from San Francisco VA Medical Center builds on earlier findings, revealing that Omega-6 fatty acids trigger a "biochemical cascade" by turning on a gene signaling pathway that leads directly to tumor growth.

"Around 60 years ago, the dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the US was one to two. Today, the ratio is 25 to one. Over that same 60 years, the incidence of prostate cancer in the US has increased steadily," say the authors of a new study linking Omega-6 fatty acids to prostrate cancer.

"After we added omega-6 fatty acids to the growth medium in the dish, and only omega-6, we observed that tumors grew twice as fast as those without omega-6," said Hughes-Fulford, Dr Millie Hughes-Fulford, director of the Laboratory of Cell Growth at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

"Investigating the reasons for this rapid growth, we discovered that the omega-6 was turning on a dozen inflammatory genes that are known to be important in cancer. We then asked what was turning on those genes, and found that omega-6 fatty acids actually turn on a signal pathway called PI3-kinase that is known to be a key player in cancer," she added.

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