LOS ANGELES—Consuming a low-fat diet high in fish oil four to six weeks prior to prostate removal surgery has been shown to slow down the growth rate of prostate cancer cells, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.
Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center also found that the men on the low-fat, fish oil supplement diet were able to change the composition of their cell membranes in both the healthy cells and the cancer cells in the prostate. They had increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil and decreased levels of omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil in the cell membranes, which may directly affect the biology of the cells, though further studies are needed.
The study also found that blood obtained from patients after the low-fat, fish oil diet program slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells in a test tube as compared to blood from men on the Western diet, which did not slow cancer growth.
The Western diet consisted of 40% of calories from fat, generally equivalent to what many Americans consume today. The fat sources also were typical of the American diet, and included high levels of omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil and low levels of fish oil that provide omega-3 fatty acids.
The low-fat diet consisted of 15% of calories from fat. The participants also took 5 grams of fish oil per day in five capsules, three with breakfast and two with dinner, to provide fish oil omega-3 fatty acids.
The study, which evaluated blood samples before and after the diet commenced and examined tissue from the removed prostate, validated previous studies on cell lines and in animal models. The study using human blood and tissue also proved that the changes prompted by what the men were eating were clearly evident in their prostate tissue—the “treatment" was indeed reaching the targeted organ because of the changes in the prostate cell membrane’s fatty acid composition.
