Reducing the burden of obesity-associated cancers with anti-inflammatory long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

Abstract

Today’s world population has an unprecedented risk of dying from the consequences of being overweight and obese. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer are often accelerated because of excessive adiposity. Various biological mechanisms are implicated in the obesity-cancer link, particularly local and systemic inflammation as well as altered growth factor signaling pathways. In order to combat obesity-induced inflammation and the resulting increases in cancer risk and progression, the identification of safe and effective mechanism-based interventions is imperative. Notably, long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) modulate the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, prostaglandins and other inflammatory mediators, restore insulin sensitivity, and can prevent or delay tumorigenesis. Delineating the precise mechanisms by which omega-3 PUFAs suppress obesity-induced inflammation will help identify promising key mechanistic targets and intervention strategies to break the obesity-cancer link.

Dietary habits, metabolic health and vitamin D status in Greenlandic children

“…Indeed, the benefits of eating traditional foods, for example marine mammals and fish (MMF), have been stressed for several decades, especially in relation to their content of vitamin D and long-chain PUFA, including n-3 fatty acids (3)(4)(5)(6) . Long-chain n-3 fatty acids are recognised for their protective role in CHD (7) and inflammation (8) . A high intake results in decreased non-HDL-cholesterol (non-HDL-C) levels (9) , which is predictive for an attenuation of CVD (10) .…”

Effects of fatty acid‐ethanol amine (FA‐EA) derivatives on lipid accumulation and inflammation

“…It is well documented that inflammation is an inevitable feature in the development of obesity and contributes to obesity‐related metabolic derangements (Ellulu et al, 2017). Ameliorating the low‐grade inflammation companied with obesity by ω‐3 PUFA benefits obesity via modulating pro‐inflammatory mediators secretion (Khatib et al, 2016). In acute and chronic inflammation, NFκB is considered a critical factor in regulating the immune response to infection (Yan et al, 2023).…”

Metabolism and Immune Modulation in Patients with Solid Tumors: Systematic Review of Preclinical and Clinical Evidence

“…In particular, leptin modulates the phagocytic functions of macrophages and pro-inflammatory cytokine production, as well as the number and function of T cells. Leptin deficiency has been associated with the loss of innate and adaptive immunity [139]. For these reasons, changes in systemic metabolism, resulting in prolonged leptin reduction, could negatively impact on the function of antitumor immunity.…”

“…It is well established that dietary fat composition plays an important role in biological processes: for instance, the omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs, EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) compete with the n-6 PUFA for enzymes promoting the n-6 PUFA conversion into pro-inflammatory and immune-suppressive prostaglandins, which reprogram M1 macrophages to protumor M2 macrophages, as previously discussed. For these reasons, increasing the absolute or relative (n-3/n-6 ratio) dietary intake of EPA and DHA, alone or in combination with PGE2 inhibitors, could result in enhanced antitumor immunity [139,140] (Figure 2).…”