March 24, 2009 /PHILADELPHIA, AACR / – Omega-3 fatty acids appear protective against advanced prostate cancer, and this effect may be modified by a genetic variant in the COX-2 gene, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“The COX-2 increased risk of disease was essentially reversed by increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake by a half a gram per day,” said John S. Witte, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco.

If men want to interpret the results in terms of adding omega-3 rich fish to their regular diet, he said, “the strongest effect was seen from eating dark fish such as salmon one or more times per week.”

Hello, I’m a 69-year-old retired carpenter and published writer. I’ve never had a Free PSA reading, only two biopsies and 5 Finger-Waves (and two of those almost made me jump through the wall).

My diet is centered around ocean fish (tuna and salmon), veggies (a lot of brocolli and other cruciferous veggies — cauliflower, Brussel sprouts), fruits (in particular apricots, which are high in selenium), vitamins (E, A, D3, a good one-a-day vitamin), Essiac Tea at five in the A.M. (when my stomach is empty), heavy sprinkling of turmeric on my food (in Ayurvedic medicine of India this herb has been in usage for almost 2 millenia — it shrinks tumors), cayenne (for the capsicum), garlic powder (both sprinkled over food, like the turmeric).

We have some recipes for canned pink wild Alaskan salmon for people who, like many of us, live on limited budgets. Hughie Kearnley, a chef who is fighting prostate cancer, shares his recipes for wild Alaskan salmon both canned and fresh.

Salmon is a super-food even compared to other oily fish like mackerel and herring. According to a study that breaks new ground, salmon’s omega-3 fatty acids are especially protective against prostate cancer for men who have one specific, common variation in a single gene.

Maria Hedelin PH.D.

Maria Hedelin, a scientist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden has found evidence that the protective effect of salmon and marine fatty acids apply with extra potency to men with a genetic variation in the COX-2 gene, which is a gene that helps regulate the body’s production of inflammatory chemicals called prostaglandins.

High intake of marine fatty acids and oily fish, especially salmon, Hedelin’s study found, “is strongly associated” with decreased relative risk of prostate cancer.

Not all fish are as beneficial. This study found that “high intake of lean fish and shellfish is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.”