Thursday, February 3, 2011

Marine Sources of the Omega-3 Fatty Acids EPA & DHA and Improved Breast Cancer Prognosis

A recent study of 3, 081 women who were diagnosed & treated for early stage breast cancer indicated that dietary supplementation with EPA & DHA may be associated with reducing the risks of additional breast cancer events & all-cause mortality. The study followed up with the women after about 7.3 years and after adjusting for confounders (a factor that can influence a trial or experiment, leading to unexpected outcomes that improperly skew the results.) showed that the women with higher intakes of EPA & DHA from marine sources had a 26% reduced risk of breast cancer events & a 41% reduced risk of all-cause mortality compared to the women with lower intake.

R. E. Patterson, S. W. Flatt, V. Newman, L. Natarajan, C. L. Rock, C. A. Thomson, B. J. Caan, B. A. Parker, and J. P. Pierce, the authors of this study conclude, "The investigation indicates that marine fatty acids from food are associated with reduced risk of additional breast cancer events and all-cause mortality."

See my "Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids" newsletter for more information.