Intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and risk of ovarian cancer.
Cancer Causes Control
; 23(11): 1775-83, 2012 Nov.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22933054
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Limited experimental evidence suggests that omega-3 polyunsaturated (n-3) fatty acids inhibit the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells in vitro, whereas omega-6 polyunsaturated (n-6) fatty acids have been shown to promote carcinogenesis, but epidemiological studies to date have been inconclusive. Our aim was to evaluate the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in ovarian carcinogenesis.METHODS:
Participants in the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study (1,366 cases and 1,414 population controls) self-completed risk factor and food frequency questionnaires. Logistic regression models were used to calculate adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI).RESULTS:
We found no association between intake of total n-3 fatty acids from foods, or the individual n-3 fatty acids-alpha-linolenic, eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic, docosahexaenoic acids-and ovarian cancer risk. High intake of total n-6 fatty acids was inversely associated with risk (OR for highest vs. lowest category 0.78, 95 % CI 0.60-1.00, p-trend 0.04); however, the association was restricted to n-6 fatty acids from avocado, vegetables, and nuts. Neither higher intake of the individual n-6 fatty acids nor the ratio of n-3 to n-6 fatty acids was associated with ovarian cancer risk. We found no evidence that risk varied by supplement use.CONCLUSIONS:
Our data provide no evidence of a protective role for n-3 fatty acids in ovarian carcinogenesis. The benefit, if any, of higher intake of n-6 fatty acids is due to general properties of the food sources, rather than due to the n-6 fatty acids per se.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ovarian Neoplasms
/
Fatty Acids, Omega-3
/
Fatty Acids, Omega-6
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Oceania
Language:
En
Journal:
Cancer Causes Control
Journal subject:
EPIDEMIOLOGIA
/
NEOPLASIAS
Year:
2012
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Australia