Cancer life insurance: Fish oils ’shrink tumours’
Fatty acids in oily fish have been found to reduce the size of tumours in mice in a new Egyptian study.
The omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexanoic acid (DHA) also increased the response of the tumour to chemotherapy, while reducing the harmful effects of the drug.
Professor AM El-Mowafy led a team of researchers from Mansoura University in Egypt who looked at the effect of DHA on tumour size and its interaction with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, which is known to cause kidney damage in patients.
He said: "Our results suggest a new, fruitful drug regimen in the management of solid tumours based on combining cisplatin, and possibly other chemotherapeutics, with DHA."
DHA has previously been tentatively linked with protection against cardiovascular, neurological and neoplastic diseases.
It is thought that the fatty acid somehow limits certain processes linked with tumour growth at a molecular level.
Last month, scientists also found that regularly eating oily fish such as salmon or mackerel could reduce a man’s risk of getting prostate cancer by about two-thirds.
The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with cancer.
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