JNCI cancer spectrum: fish oil pushed down the altar? Soy oil may be better for breast cancer patients than fish oil

March 3, 2019 / bioun / - researchers recently found that for breast cancer survivors, eating soy oil is more conducive to reducing cancer-related fatigue than fish oil, with unexpected results The results of this study, along with other similar studies, have led to controversy in breast cancer research: do breast cancer patients eat better fish oil or soy oil? Photo source: http://cn.bing.com "our research found that the value of fish oil was overestimated." Said Dr Luke peppone, assistant professor of surgery at the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center He led the study, which was recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute spectrum In recent years, fish oil supplements (containing omega-3 fatty acids) have been widely used in the United States to treat or prevent a range of diseases and protect cardiovascular health Many studies, including a review of several clinical studies, have shown that fish oil supplements are not beneficial But because fish oil can reduce inflammation in the body, Wilmot's researchers wonder if it can help some cancer patients prevent extreme fatigue Past studies have shown a link between fatigue and inflammation, so fish oil may be useful The researchers designed a study in which 80 breast cancer patients took fish oil in the experimental group and soy oil in the control group because of omega-6 fatty acids It is generally believed that omega-6 can promote inflammation rather than anti inflammation The researchers used standard tests to test patients' fatigue before the experiment began, and then divided them into three groups: one group ate high-dose fish oil, one group ate low-dose combination of fish oil and soybean oil, and the other group ate high-dose soybean oil The researchers also collected blood samples from patients to test for inflammatory proteins The results showed that the fatigue status of the three groups of patients improved, but the patients who had the most fatigue reduction were those who ate high-dose soybean oil The patients with the best effect were those with the most severe fatigue at the beginning of the experiment Peppone said data from blood samples might explain the surprising results Although fish oil is rich in anti-inflammatory factors, their results show that fish oil and soybean oil affect different types of inflammatory proteins Fish oil supplements reduced ifny, IL-6 and ptges2 levels, while soybean oil reduced TNF-a levels Researchers speculate that cancer-related fatigue is more likely to be associated with the TNF-a pathway Although soy oil has been shown to work well in this study, some breast cancer patients receiving hormone receptor positive treatment need to be cautious Because some soy products (such as protein powder, tofu and additives for processing food) contain isoflavones, which can produce estrogen like effects and may increase the risk of cancer recurrence Peppone said the fish oil supplements used in the study did not contain isoflavones He also stressed that there is not enough evidence to support patients' consumption of soy oil to alleviate cancer-related fatigue, and suggested that they should not take any soy oil supplements without consulting a doctor More research is needed to fully understand the relationship between inflammation, dietary fat and cancer fatigue Reference: Luke J pepper et al Multicenter randomized controlled trial of omega-3 pretty acids versus omega-6 pretty acids for the control of cancer related fatigue among breast cancer survivors, JNCI cancer spectrum (2019) Doi: 10.1093/jnics/pkz005