A recent study (1) has found that women who take fish oil supplements seem to have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer
The VITAL (VITamins And Lifestyle) study (1) involved a cohort of over 35,000 women aged 50-76 years old. They completed a comprehensive 24-page questionnaire at the start of the study (2000), as part of this questionnaire they were asked about their recency (current versus past), frequency (days/week), and duration (years) of specialty supplement use. The women were followed for around 7 years. In that time over 850 cases of invasive breast cancers were noted and the researchers of the study performed analysis on the data to see if there was any association between supplement use and breast cancer risk.
The results showed that current use of fish oil was associated with reduced risk of breast cancer. Ten-year average use of fish oil was also suggestive of reduced risk (though the results were not statistically significant). These results held for ductal but not lobular cancers (1). Specifically, those women who said they regularly used fish oil supplements were about one-third less likely than non-users to develop breast cancer over the next six years. The lower risk was seen even when a number of known and suspected risk factors for breast cancer were taken into account e.g. including older age, obesity, heavy drinking and sedentary lifestyle. The other specialty supplements which were studied were not associated with breast cancer risk. Specifically, use of supplements sometimes taken for menopausal symptoms (black cohosh, dong quai, soy, or St. John’s wort) were not associated with risk (1).
The authors conclude that (1) “Fish oil may be inversely associated with breast cancer risk” but they stress that “Fish oil is a potential candidate for chemoprevention studies. Until that time, it is not recommended for individual use for breast cancer prevention”
The study was just an observational association study, it does not prove that fish oil supplements prevent against breast cancer. As the authors mention, further studies and specific trials would be necessary before any conclusion drawn or recommendations made. In a press release (2) one of the study authors states ”Without confirming studies specifically addressing this,” “we should not draw any conclusions about a causal relationship.” Currently there is a trial underway in America which is looking at whether fish oil and vitamin D supplements affect the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke in older men and women. The results won’t be known for a number of years yet.
Fish oil contains long chain omega 3 fatty acids which are important to health for a number of reasons and also linked to the prevention of various diseases such as heart disease. Eating oily fish such as trout, salmon, mackerel and sardines at least twice weekly is a good way of ensuring adequate amounts of these essential fats in the diet. It is plausible that fish oil could to linked to reduced breast cancer risk via its anti-inflammatory effects in the body, but further research would be necessary to find out any specific preventative actions in the body
(1)Brasky TM et al. 2010. Specialty Supplements and Breast Cancer Risk in the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) Cohort. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(7); 1696–708. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-10-0318
(2)Press release. American Association for Cancer Research (2010, July 8). Fish oil may reduce risk of breast cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 9, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/07/100708071349.htm
Written by Ani Kowal
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