*GG*
senior member
- Messages
- 6,389
- Location
- Concord, NH
The study’s authors showed similar biases in previous papers—yet the media keep stoking the flames without doing any serious analysis.
A new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, led by Theodore Brasky, PhD, et al., has supposedly found a link between high concentrations of EPA, DPA and DHA in the bloodstream—the three anti-inflammatory and metabolically related fatty acids derived from fatty fish and fish-oil supplements—and an increased risk of prostate cancer: a 44% increased risk of “low-grade” prostate cancer, and a 71% increased risk of “high grade” (that is, aggressive) cancer, according to their report.
Brasky and his colleagues looked at two groups: their own cohort of 834 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, of which 156 had high-grade cancer; and, for comparison, the data and blood samples from 1,393 men of the same age range randomly chosen from the 35,500 participants in the prostate cancer SELECT trial. In looking at the analysis of the men’s blood samples, Brasky et al. found that men who had the highest amount of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCω-3PUFA) in their system had an increased risk of prostate cancer, compared to men with the lowest amount of LCω-3PUFA. At the same time, they found that omega-6 fatty acids were associated with lower risks of total prostate cancer.
Brasky and his colleagues had published a paper in 2011 indicating that DHA was positively associated with high-grade prostate cancer, but that trans-fatty acids (like those found in margarine and frying oils that contribute to heart disease) were associated with a decreased risk of aggressive prostate cancer. This new analysis seems to confirm their previous findings.
It’s like living in topsy-turvy land.
Brasky’s conclusions run contrary to almost every previous study on the subject. There are several prospective studies showing numerous benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in relation to cancer. In one, researchers investigated the effect of dietary fish intake among 6,272 Swedish men who were followed for thirty years. Men who ate no fish had a two- to three-fold increase in the risk of developing prostate cancer compared with those who consumed large amounts of fish in their diet. Similar studies have suggested lower prostate cancer risk associated with omega-3 fatty acids from fish in Japanese and Brazilian men.
An important Harvard study examined the link between dietary fish consumption and the risk of metastatic prostate cancer. The study involved 47,882 men over twelve years, and found that eating fish more than three times a week reduced the risk of prostate cancer but had an even greater impact on the risk of metastatic prostate cancer. For each additional 500 mg of marine fat consumed, the risk of metastatic disease decreased by 24%!
Let’s look at some of the problems with the study, both with the way the study was set up and with the conclusions reached by the researchers:
· The group Brasky used for comparison in his study were participants in SELECT (theSELenium and vitamin E Cancer prevention Trial) conducted from 2001 to 2008. The $114 million study was trying to determine whether vitamin E (in the form of incomplete and synthetic alpha-tocopherol, one of eight forms of vitamin E that in nature work together) and selenium can prevent prostate cancer. This study was called to a halt when an early look at the data showed no benefit for the treatment. In this clinical trial there were slightly more prostate cancers in men taking alpha-tocopherol vitamin E alone, and slightly more diabetes in men taking only selenium. But neither finding was statistically significant, meaning these findings were likely due to chance.
cont'd
http://www.anh-usa.org/flawed-study-fish-oil-cancer/
A new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, led by Theodore Brasky, PhD, et al., has supposedly found a link between high concentrations of EPA, DPA and DHA in the bloodstream—the three anti-inflammatory and metabolically related fatty acids derived from fatty fish and fish-oil supplements—and an increased risk of prostate cancer: a 44% increased risk of “low-grade” prostate cancer, and a 71% increased risk of “high grade” (that is, aggressive) cancer, according to their report.
Brasky and his colleagues looked at two groups: their own cohort of 834 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, of which 156 had high-grade cancer; and, for comparison, the data and blood samples from 1,393 men of the same age range randomly chosen from the 35,500 participants in the prostate cancer SELECT trial. In looking at the analysis of the men’s blood samples, Brasky et al. found that men who had the highest amount of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCω-3PUFA) in their system had an increased risk of prostate cancer, compared to men with the lowest amount of LCω-3PUFA. At the same time, they found that omega-6 fatty acids were associated with lower risks of total prostate cancer.
Brasky and his colleagues had published a paper in 2011 indicating that DHA was positively associated with high-grade prostate cancer, but that trans-fatty acids (like those found in margarine and frying oils that contribute to heart disease) were associated with a decreased risk of aggressive prostate cancer. This new analysis seems to confirm their previous findings.
It’s like living in topsy-turvy land.
Brasky’s conclusions run contrary to almost every previous study on the subject. There are several prospective studies showing numerous benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in relation to cancer. In one, researchers investigated the effect of dietary fish intake among 6,272 Swedish men who were followed for thirty years. Men who ate no fish had a two- to three-fold increase in the risk of developing prostate cancer compared with those who consumed large amounts of fish in their diet. Similar studies have suggested lower prostate cancer risk associated with omega-3 fatty acids from fish in Japanese and Brazilian men.
An important Harvard study examined the link between dietary fish consumption and the risk of metastatic prostate cancer. The study involved 47,882 men over twelve years, and found that eating fish more than three times a week reduced the risk of prostate cancer but had an even greater impact on the risk of metastatic prostate cancer. For each additional 500 mg of marine fat consumed, the risk of metastatic disease decreased by 24%!
Let’s look at some of the problems with the study, both with the way the study was set up and with the conclusions reached by the researchers:
· The group Brasky used for comparison in his study were participants in SELECT (theSELenium and vitamin E Cancer prevention Trial) conducted from 2001 to 2008. The $114 million study was trying to determine whether vitamin E (in the form of incomplete and synthetic alpha-tocopherol, one of eight forms of vitamin E that in nature work together) and selenium can prevent prostate cancer. This study was called to a halt when an early look at the data showed no benefit for the treatment. In this clinical trial there were slightly more prostate cancers in men taking alpha-tocopherol vitamin E alone, and slightly more diabetes in men taking only selenium. But neither finding was statistically significant, meaning these findings were likely due to chance.
cont'd
http://www.anh-usa.org/flawed-study-fish-oil-cancer/