Chronic myeloid leukemia: a discovery, thanks to Omega 3, that opens a new avenue against this cancer

Aneicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) derivative, Omega 3 contained infish oil, kills stem cells that cause chronic myeloid leukemia. This was demonstrated by a group of researchers coordinated by Sandeep Prabhu of Pennsylvania State University (University Park, USA) in a study published in the journal Blood. Underlying this toxicity is the conversion of EPA into a compound that, in mice, kills cancer stem cells in the spleen and bone marrow. The discovery opens a new avenue in the search for a cure for this form of cancer.

Omega-3s and cancer

The scientific literature is replete with publications suggesting the effectiveness of Omega-3s in cancer therapy, especially when these nutrients are used in combination with traditional treatments. Their action is mainly based on competition with Omega-6, fatty acids that are a key nutrient for neoplastic cells and can promote tumor development. Omega-3s make cancer cells more sensitive to the action of free radicals and promote their self-destruction, limiting cancer expansion. The forms of cancer against which these nutrients have proven useful to date are mainly colon, prostate and breast cancer, but the study published in Blood extends the range of Omega-3's effectiveness to chronic myeloid leukemia as well.

Fish oil injections against leukemia

The authors of the new research conducted experiments on two mouse models of leukemia. The first consisted of mice infected with Friend virus, a microbe that causes so-called erythroleukemia, while the other consisted of mice expressing a protein associated with chronic myeloid leukemia in their blood stem cells. The researchers injected each mouse with 600 nanograms per day of the EPA derivative for one week. This treatment brought altered hematologic parameters in chronic myeloid leukemia back to normal. Not only that, following the administration of this Omega-3 derivative, the appearance of the spleen-an organ that becomes enlarged in leukemia-also returned to normal. As a result, the mice of recovered from leukemia without developing relapses.

Targeted action against stem cells.

Experiments conducted by Prabhu and colleagues showed that the molecule administered to mice selectively affects leukemia stem cells. Specifically, these cells undergo a kind of "suicide" precisely because the Omega-3 derivative activates a gene -- called p53 -- involved in the phenomena of programmed cell death. The fact that cells taken from mice treated with this molecule, transplanted into other animals, are unable to cause a new cancer to develop shows that this treatment completely eliminates cancer stem cells.

Hopes for the future

Robert Paulson, co-author of the research, pointed out that current therapies against chronic myeloid leukemia are able to prolong patients' life expectancy, but do not cure them. The Omega-3 derivative, on the other hand, acts directly on the cells underlying the tumor and could cure the disease for good. Therefore, the discovery could pave the way for the development of chemotherapy that defeats chronic myeloid leukemia by attacking it at its roots.  

Source 

1. Hegde S, Kaushal N, Ravindra KC, Chiaro C, Hafer KT, Gandhi UH, Thompson JT, van den Heuvel JP, Kennett MJ, Hankey P, Paulson RF, Prabhu KS, “{Delta}12-prostaglandin J3, an omega-3 fatty acid-derived metabolite, selectively ablates leukemia stem cells in mice”, Blood. 2011 Dec 22;118(26):6909-19. Epub 2011 Oct 3