March 26, 2010 – Particularly marine omega-3 supplement has been shown to reduce the number and diameter of polyps in people with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), a genetic condition that can lead to colon cancer .
This is what British researchers discovered after a study involving 55 patients with this disease who have already undergone a colectomy – a surgery in which the colon is removed partially or completely. .
Every day, for 6 months, half of the participants took a supplement of 2 g of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), one of the 2 types of omega-3 found in fatty fish and some seafood.2. This supplement is not yet marketed. The other participants were taking a placebo supplement.
Results? A 12% reduction in the average number of precancerous polyps in those who took the omega-3 supplement, compared with a 9.7% increase in the rest, for a total difference of 22.4%.
In addition, the diameter of the polyps decreased by 12.6% in those treated with EPA-type omega-3, while it increased by 17.2% in the group treated with the placebo, denoting a difference of 29 , 8% between the 2 groups.
For gastroenterologist Michel Boivin, these results are very encouraging.
“The therapeutic effect of EPA-type omega-3s is equivalent to what is obtained in such circumstances with the anti-inflammatory inhibitors of COX-2 – Celebrex – which is practically no longer used because of the cardiovascular risks that ‘he presents,’ says the specialist who is also a full professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Montreal.
To prevent large-scale colorectal cancer?
According to Dr. Boivin, the results of this study suggest the possibility that omega-3s can prevent colorectal cancer both in people with familial adenomatous polyposis and in the general population.
“The presence of polyps is very common and even if they are benign tumors in most cases, 20% to 30% become cancerous,” he says.
Since colorectal cancer has its origin in intestinal polyps, EPA-type omega-3s constitute, according to Michel Boivin, “an interesting avenue for reducing the progression of polyps and perhaps even eradicating them”.
Colorectal cancer affects 3% to 6% of the Canadian population.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. West NJ, et al, Eicosapentaenoic acid reduces rectal polyp number and size in familial adenomatous polyposis, Gut, 2010 ,. doi: 10.1136 / gut.2009.200642.
2. The other omega-3 of marine origin is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). For more information, see our sheet on essential fatty acids.
