Erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and breast cancer risk: a prospective analysis in the nurses' health study II

Abstract

The roles of specific fatty acids in breast cancer etiology are unclear, particularly among premenopausal women. We examined 34 individual fatty acids, measured in blood erythrocytes collected between 1996 and 1999, and breast cancer risk in a nested case-control study of primarily premenopausal women in the Nurses' Health Study II. Breast cancer cases diagnosed after blood collection and before June 2010 (n = 794) were matched to controls and conditional logistic regression was used to estimate OR's (95% CI's) for associations of fatty acids with breast cancer; unconditional logistic regression was used for stratified analyses. Fatty acids were not significantly associated with breast cancer risk overall; however, heterogeneity by body mass index (BMI) was observed. Among overweight/obese women (BMI ≥ 25), several odd-chain saturated (SFA, e.g. 17:0, OR (95% CI) =1.85 (1.18-2.88), p =0.006 p <0.001), trans (TFA, e.g. 18:1, OR (95% CI) =2.33 (1.45-3.77), p <0.001, p =0.007) and dairy-derived fatty acids (SFA 15:0 + 17:0 + TFA 16:1n-7t; OR (95% CI) =1.83(1.16-2.89), p =0.005, p <0.001) were positively associated, and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA, e.g. alpha-linolenic acid; OR (95% CI) =0.57 (0.36-0.89), p =0.017, p =0.03) were inversely associated with breast cancer. Total SFA were inversely associated with breast cancer among women with BMI < 25 (OR (95% CI) =0.68 (0.46-0.98), p =0.05, p =0.01). Thus, while specific fatty acids were not associated with breast cancer overall, our findings suggest positive associations of several SFA, TFA and dairy-derived fatty acids and inverse associations of n-3 PUFA with breast cancer among overweight/obese women. Given these fatty acids are influenced by diet, and therefore are potentially modifiable, further investigation of these associations among overweight/obese women is warranted.

Serum Phospholipids Fatty Acids and Breast Cancer Risk by Pathological Subtype

“…Palmitelaidic acid is a natural trans fatty acid produced by microbial hydrogenation of palmitoleic acid in the rumen of ruminants and, consequently, is present in all fats of these animals [ 54 ], although it can also be produced endogenously by the partial β oxidation of dietary vaccenic acid [ 55 ]. Although studies evaluating the relationship between BC and levels of this trans fatty acid in biomarkers are scarce, positive associations have been described in the serum of current postmenopausal smokers [ 56 ], in the erythrocytes membrane of overweight/obese women from the Nurses’ Health Study II [ 17 ], and in the plasma of a cohort of Australian women, although in the latter case the association was only found with ER-/PR- tumors [ 16 ]. Elaidic acid, the trans form of oleic acid, is the main industrial trans fatty acid that is produced during the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils, and is a reliable biomarker of highly processed foods among European populations [ 57 ].…”

“…Therefore, the fatty acid profile in biological samples is a more accurate measure that reflects the interaction between dietary intake, de novo lipogenesis and the activity of different enzymes involved in this metabolic process [ 14 ]. Although data from a meta-analysis of prospective studies found no association between serum levels of SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs and risk of BC [ 15 ], more recent studies have described positive associations with circulating levels of several SFAs [ 16 , 17 ], palmitoleic acid [ 18 ], some trans fatty acids [ 17 , 18 , 19 ] and the ratio of palmitoleic acid to palmitic acid (DI 16 ) [ 18 ], as well as an inverse association with n-3 PUFAs among overweight/obese women [ 17 ].…”

Obesity, Dietary Factors, Nutrition, and Breast Cancer Risk

“…Insights into mechanisms that may contribute to the beneficial health effects of n -3 PUFAs can be gleaned by reviewing recent work by Kiecolt-Glaser et al [106], showing that n -3 PUFAs supplementation positively impacted cell aging, thereby highlighting how inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune cell aging—which appear to be important mechanisms prior to disease onset—that may be ameliorated through nutritional interventions. Among women, n -3 PUFA intake has been found to be inversely associated with breast cancer risk [99, 100, 107, 108] and breast cancer mortality [103, 104]. Mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of higher consumption of marine n -3 fatty acids in terms of lowering breast cancer risk might be attributed to the growth-inhibitory, pro-apoptotic, or anti-angiogenic effects of n -3 fatty acids that can be found in fish [100, 103].…”

A brief review of physiological roles, plant resources, synthesis, purification and oxidative stability of Alpha-linolenic Acid

“…Recent studies have showed that ALA reduces growth of breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, BT-474, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468) and demonstrates a dynamic gene expression in treated breast cancer cells (Wiggins et al, 2015;Mason-Ennis et al, 2016). Hirko et al (2018) reported that there were inverse associations of n-3 PUFA (e.g. ALA) with breast cancer among overweight/obese women (BMI≥25) after examed the relationship between 34 individual fatty acids and cases.…”