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.”

Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by Ajit Varki, M.D., has shown a new mechanism for how human consumption of red meat and milk products could contribute to the increased risk of cancerous tumors. In brief, people who consume animal products expose their own tissues to close contact with animal molecules.  This may set up an immune response.

The new findings suggest that inflammation resulting from a molecule introduced through consumption of red meat and milk could promote tumor growth. The results are published online this week in advance of print publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).