Fish Oil Supplementation, Nutrigenomics and Colorectal Cancer Prevention

Study Summary

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death within the United States. Animal models and observational studies have suggested that marine-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids \[PUFA\] such as eicosapentanoic acid \[EPA\] and docosahexanoic acid \[DHA\] may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. In addition, it may be the relative proportion of n-3 to n-6 PUFAs that best determines the chemopreventive effects of fish oils. This ratio is important because the n-6 PUFA, arachidonic acid (ARA), is converted via the cyclo-oxygenase (COX) pathway to prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), an inflammatory eicosanoid overproduced in colorectal neoplasms while EPA is converted to the anti-inflammatory prostaglandin E3 (PGE3). While the ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFAs can be altered through dietary changes, genetic factors may also influence this ratio. Recent genetic studies have demonstrated that much of the tissue levels of ARA is determined by differences in a gene called fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1). FADS1 is the rate-limiting enzyme in the conversion of linoleic acid, the most commonly consumed PUFA in the Western diet, to ARA, and one particular genetic variant caller rs174537 is associated with lower fatty acid desaturase activity and subsequently lower tissue levels of ARA. The study hypothesis is that individuals with genetically determined lower activity of FADS1 will derive greater benefit from fish oil supplementation than individuals with higher FADS1 activity because of lower tissue levels of ARA and subsequently a more favorable n-6 to n-3 PUFA ratio. To test this hypothesis the investigators will recruit 150 participants with recently identified adenomatous polyps and conduct a 6-month double blind 3 X 2 factorial randomized controlled trial. The first factor will be FADS1 genotype (GG, GT, and TT) and the second factor will be fish oil supplementation (fish oil versus placebo). The primary outcome will be the change in rectal epithelial cell growth

Primary Outcome

The primary outcome of interest is rectal epithelial cell proliferation, as measured by Ki67 (mib-1) labeling. Expression of Ki-67 in colon epithelial cells will be detected following the standard IHC protocol of EnVision™+ System, HRP (DAKO).

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• DRUG Eicosapentanoic acid and docosahexanoic acid
• DRUG Oleic Acid

Study Locations (1)