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Mesothelioma: A Killer
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Gene may sway fish oil's breast cancer benefit
Last Updated: 2004-09-29 10:39:23 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fish oil may help lower the risk of breast cancer, but the benefit may depend largely on a woman's genetic makeup, researchers have found.
Their study of middle-age and older women in Singapore found that those who carried "low-activity" versions of certain genes were less likely to develop breast cancer when they ate a diet rich in fish that contain omega-3 fatty acids.
In contrast, fish oils provided no apparent breast cancer protection to women who carried other forms of the genes, which code for enzymes called glutathione S-transferases (GSTs).
The findings were published online recently by the medical journal Carcinogenesis.
GSTs are believed to rid the body of certain byproducts that are produced when omega-3 fatty acids are metabolized. In women with low-activity versions of the enzymes, these omega-3 byproducts would be expected to linger in the body for a longer time.
Therefore, the new findings support the hypothesis that it's the metabolic byproducts of omega-3 fats that confer breast cancer protection, said Dr. Manuela Gago-Dominguez, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
The results, she told Reuters Health, build on evidence from lab experiments that such omega-3 byproducts, which are produced by a process called lipid peroxidation, can kill breast cancer cells.
For this latest study, Gago-Dominguez and her colleagues gathered data from a trial of more than 63,000 middle-age and older men and women in Singapore.
The researchers were able to analyze dietary reports and DNA samples from 399 women who developed breast cancer during the study, and 670 women who did not. Focusing on variations in three GST genes, they found that omega-3 fatty acids lowered breast cancer risk only in women with low-activity forms of the genes.
Among women with these gene variations, high intake of omega-3 fatty acids appeared to cut breast cancer risk by up to 74 percent, depending on which combination of low-activity variants a woman carried.
"These are women whose bodies do a poor job of getting rid of the beneficial byproducts of omega-3 fatty acids," Gago-Dominguez explained.
Although the findings suggest that only some women may benefit from fatty fish when it comes to breast cancer risk, Gago-Dominguez said the study could also have implications for breast cancer treatment.
She noted that experimental research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids may enhance the effects of certain cancer drugs. Understanding the mechanism by which the fatty acids may fight breast cancer, she said, could help scientists find better ways to kill cancer cells.
SOURCE: Carcinogenesis; advance online edition.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Topical drug best for smallpox vaccine side effects
Last Updated: 2004-09-28 16:21:17 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A variety of potentially serious infections can occur after immunization with the smallpox vaccine. Now, findings from an animal study suggest that a topical form of cidofovir, an anti-viral drug, is better than an intravenous form at treating such infections.
"The implications of our study are that severe, progressive infections that can occur following smallpox vaccination would be much better treated with topical cidofovir than with the intravenous drug," Dr. Donald F. Smee, who led the study, told Reuters Health.
Smee and colleagues from the Institute for Antiviral Research at Utah State University in Logan exposed the wounded skin of mice to vaccinia virus, the virus used in the smallpox vaccine. The mice, which had defective immune systems and could not fight off the virus, were treated with topical (cream), intravenous, or both forms of cidofovir.
The new findings appear in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
As expected, the animals developed overwhelming infections. Both forms of cidofovir were effective in delaying death, but the topical form was better than the intravenous form at reducing the number of infected body sites as well as virus levels in the skin.
Animals treated with both topical and intravenous cidofovir had the greatest reduction in infection severity and survived the longest.
"Presently, cidofovir is formulated for intravenous use," Smee told Reuters Health. "I believe that the FDA is still in the process of approving cidofovir for treatment" of smallpox vaccine complications, he added.
SOURCE: Journal of Infectious Diseases, September 15, 2004.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
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