Friday, November 03, 2006

Omega-3-rich fish linked to lower prostate cancer risk

The study, published in the November issue of International Journal of Cancer, adds to an ever growing body of science linking omega-3 fatty acids to a wide-range of health benefits.

The Swedish researchers assessed dietary fish intake among 1,499 men with prostate cancer and compared this with dietary intake of 1,130 healthy men in the general Swedish population. Genetic variations in a key enzyme in fatty acid metabolism and inflammation, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, were also assessed.

Hedelin and her co-workers report that men who ate salmon-type fatty fish at least once a week were associated with a 43 per cent reduction in prostate cancer risk compared to men who never ate fish.

They also found a significant interaction between salmon-type fish intake and a single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in a COX-2 gene carried by 60 per cent of the population. Carriers of the variant allele who ate one or more oily fish servings per week had an associated reduce prostate cancer risk of 72 per cent, while no link was observed among carriers of the more common allele.

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