This most common cooking oil promotes cancer cell metastasis and increases the risk of spread

When you eat biscuits, instant noodles, or fried chicken, you are likely to be eating palm oil at the same time.

Palm oil comes from the fruit of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), and although it rarely appears on supermarket shelves or in your kitchen, it is the most produced and consumed vegetable oil in the world.

About 90% of palm oil is used in the food industry. One of its main uses is in processing fried foods. It is also added to foods such as chocolate and ice cream.

But the health effects of palm oil have been controversial. A study published in the journal Nature recently revealed how palmitic acid changes the cancer genome, increasing the likelihood of cancer spreading.

The results show that palmitic acid, a fatty acid commonly found in palm oil, promotes metastasis of oral cancer and melanoma in mice. The researchers have begun developing therapies to interrupt this process and say clinical trials could begin in the next few years.

Palmitic acid can trigger epigenetic changes in cancer cells

The metastasis and spread of cancer remains the main cause of death in cancer patients, and the vast majority of patients with metastatic cancer can only be treated but not cured.

Scientists have known that fatty acids in our diets, the building blocks of fat in our bodies and food, can promote cancer metastasis, but it was unclear how this happened or whether all fatty acids promoted metastasis.

The study was part-funded by the UK charity Global Cancer Research and led by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

The results showed that palmitic acid, a fatty acid commonly found in palm oil, promoted the metastasis of oral cancer and melanoma in mice. Other fatty acids called oleic acid (omega-9) and linoleic acid (omega-6), which are found in foods such as olive oil and flaxseed, did not have this effect. In addition, none of the fatty acids tested increased the risk of developing cancer.

The study found that when palmitic acid was supplemented in the diet of mice, it not only promoted cancer metastasis, but also had long-term effects on the genome. Even when palmitic acid was removed from the diet, cancer cells that had only been exposed to palmitic acid for a short period of time retained strong metastatic ability.

The researchers found that this "memory" is caused by epigenetic changes, which means changes in gene function. Epigenetic changes alter the function of metastatic cancer cells, allowing them to form neural networks around the tumor, communicate with cells in the surrounding environment, and spread more easily. By understanding the nature of this communication, the researchers found a way to block the process, and now they are planning a clinical trial to block metastasis in different types of cancer.

Finding new ways to intervene in cancer cell metastasis

Salvador Aznar-Benitah, a CREA researcher and head of the IRB Institute's Stem Cell and Cancer Laboratory, and a senior author of the study, have co-founded a company that is developing the antibodies for use in such clinical trials. The researchers hope that trials could begin in the next few years to test their new antibodies in several different types of cancer.
"I think it's too early to say for sure what type of diet in patients with metastatic cancer will slow down metastasis," said Salvador Aznar-Benitah, ICREA Research Professor and Head of the Advanced Research Group at IRB Barcelona and senior author of the paper.

Based on our results, it is plausible that a diet lacking palmitic acid could be effective in slowing down the metastatic process, but more research is needed to confirm this.”

I am very excited about this and we are investing a lot of energy into developing the best possible treatments, which hopefully cancer patients will benefit from in the near future.”

A deeper understanding of the relationship between diet and cancer

Dr Helen Rippon, chief executive of World Cancer Research, said: "This discovery represents a major breakthrough in our understanding of how diet and cancer are linked and, perhaps more importantly, how we can use this knowledge to develop new cancer treatments."

“It is estimated that approximately 9 million people die from cancer metastasis each year worldwide, accounting for 90% of all cancer deaths.

It is worth noting that previous concerns about palm oil have focused on its impact on cardiovascular health. Palm oil contains a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids than many other vegetable oils, which makes it less susceptible to oxidation when fried at high temperatures for a long time, produces fewer harmful substances, and is more suitable for the needs of the food industry.

Whether palm oil affects health is still inconclusive, and there is no evidence that consuming palm oil increases the risk of cancer. But in general, it is better to avoid eating too much high-temperature fried food and pay attention to a balanced diet, which is more beneficial to health.

Source: Science Circle (ID: keyanquan), Worldwide Cancer Research

Compiled by: Qi Yiyin

References:

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/934153

https://www.statista.com/statistics/263937/vegetable-oils-global-consumption/

http://www.xinhuanet.com/health/2017-04/05/c_1120750663.htm

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