Omega-3 DHA Kills Cancer Cells

STOCKHOLM, SwedenOmega-3 fatty acid DHA may help treat many types of childhood and adult cancers including neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, colon, breast and prostate cancers, according to a new study published in the FASEB Journal.

"We hope that this study can provide a deeper understanding of the actions of omega-3 fatty acids and their products in cancer cells, and why they can be of such high importance in treatment of the disease," said Helena Gleissman, PhD, co-author of the study from the Childhood Cancer Research Unit of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. "Ultimately, we hope that we can be able to cure more children with neuroblastoma, and possibly other cancers."

Scientists administered DHA to neuroblastoma cells from the nervous system and analyzed the cells for byproducts as the DHA was metabolized into the cells. Researchers then examined the affect of both DHA and its derivatives on the growth of cancer cells. Results showed DHA killed the cancer cells, but that the toxic derivatives produced by DHA were even more effective at killing the cancer cells. This suggests that DHA could become a new agent for treating neuroblastoma and possibly many other cancers.