A diet low in omega-6 and high in omega-3 fatty acids, combined with fish oil supplements, can significantly reduce the growth rate of prostate cancer cells in men with early-stage disease, claims a study.
The research by the University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences offers new evidence that changes in diet can play a crucial role in slowing down the growth of cancer cells in patients who are undergoing regular monitoring of cancer but have not yet begun medical intervention.
The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, “suggest that something as simple as adjusting your diet could potentially slow cancer growth,” said Dr. William Aronson, Professor of Urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The dietary changes may help “extend the time before more aggressive interventions are needed”, the researcher said.
To determine whether diet or supplements can play a role in managing prostate cancer, the team conducted a prospective clinical trial. They included 100 men with low-risk or favorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer who chose active surveillance.
Participants were randomly assigned to either continue their normal diet or follow a low omega-6, high omega-3 diet, supplemented with fish oil, for one year.
Participants in the intervention arm received dietary personalised counseling to create a favorable balance of their intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fats and make participants feel empowered to control how they change their behavior. They were also given fish oil capsules for extra omega-3s. The control group did not get any dietary counseling or take fish oil capsules.
The results showed that the low omega-6, omega-3 rich diet and fish oil group had a 15 per cent decrease in the Ki-67 index, while the control group saw a 24 per cent increase. The ki-67 index indicates how fast cancer cells are multiplying — a key predictor of cancer progression, metastasis, and survival.
Aronson noted that the study shows that “dietary changes may help slow cancer growth, potentially delaying or even preventing the need for more aggressive treatments”. However, he cautioned that further research is necessary to confirm the long-term benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and lowering omega-6 in managing prostate cancer.
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