A study has shown that one of the key fatty acids found in fish like herring, salmon and mackerel could hold the key to tackling cancer that causes more than 150,000 deaths in Britain each year.
Egyptian researchers have found that docosahexanoic acid (DHA) from the oils shrinks tumours by nearly 80 per cent.
When experts combine it with the powerful chemotherapy drug cisplatin, it gives some protection against the kidney damage cisplatin can cause – and also enables a lower dose of chemotherapy to be given.
Cisplatin is used to treat various cancers, including ovarian.
One of the major hurdles in tackling cancer tumours is how to kill the disease but not the healthy tissue surrounding it.
Chemotherapy drugs are toxic to cancer cells but patients can suffer distressing side-effects, such as hair loss and damage to vital organs.
But the researchers at Egypt’s Mansoura university, led by Professor Abdalla El-Mowafy, found that DHA boosts the positive effects of chemo- therapy and limits the side-effects.
The experiments on rats, described in BioMed Central’s journal Cell Division, are the latest findings to support the growing evidence of the health benefits of omega-3 acids.
Prof El-Mowafy said: “Getting an anti-cancer effect with no adverse reactions is the key to curing cancer.
“Fish oil works on its own to tackle the disease but when we combine it with chemotherapy, it enhances its effects so you can reduce both dose and adverse reactions.
“Omega-3 can be taken in capsules as a supplement.
“We had 100 per cent survival in animals using chemotherapy and omega-3 and saw tumour shrinkage of 80 per cent.
“It is having a preventative and palliative effect.”
His report added: “While DHA has been tentatively linked with protection against cardiovascular, neurological and neoplastic diseases, there exists a paucity of research information, in particular regarding its interactions with chemotherapy drugs.” Researchers found that, at the molecular level, DHA acts by reducing leukocytosis (the accumulation of white blood cells), systemic inflammation and oxidative stress – all processes linked with tumour growth.
Prof El-Mowafy called for greater deployment of omega-3 against cancer.
However, Cancer Research UK’s Jessica Harris urged caution over the findings.
She said: “The study was done on mice and rats, not people, so it is too soon to know if the results could be used to improve cancer treatments, or to reduce the side-effects that patients experience.”