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Common ingredient found to encourage aggressive cancer spread

New research has found that a fatty acid found in palm oil and dairy products contributes to the aggressive nature of tumours and allows them to spread. The study from Barcelona’s Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) saw researchers expose samples of mouth and skin cancers to a diet rich in palmitic acid - a major component of palm oil - before transplanting the sample tumours into mice. Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil in the world and can be found in food, beauty products, and detergents, according to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a>. The team found that the tumours had a greater capacity to metastasize - meaning they were more likely to spread to other parts of the body. They also identified that the cancer cells were permanently changed after being exposed to palmitic acid and were able to maintain this improved ability to metastasize months after. When they compared palmitic acid to linoleic acid and oleic acid - found in ingredients such as olive oil and linseed oil - the team discovered that palmitic acid was the only one to have any effect on the tumours. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWGewZNIOOx/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWGewZNIOOx/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by IRBBarcelona (@irbbarcelona)</a> </div> </blockquote> They also found that the fatty acids didn’t increase the risk of developing cancer in the first place. “There is something very special about palmitic acid that makes it an extremely potent promoter of metastasis,” researcher Dr Salvador Aznar-Benitah told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/10/fatty-acid-found-in-palm-oil-linked-to-spread-of-cancer" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. In previous work, the same team showed that there was a correlation between palmitic acid and increased risks of metastasis. “In 2017, we published a study indicating that palmitic acid correlates with an increased risk of metastasis, but we didn’t know the mechanism responsible for this,” Dr Aznar-Benitah <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/news/scientific/palmitic-acid-promotes-cancer-metastasis-and-leaves-more-aggressive-memory-tumour" target="_blank">explained</a>. In their latest study, published in <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04075-0" target="_blank">Nature</a>, they identified that the altered, aggressive cancer cells attracted the attention of the body’s nervous system and led to the construction of a network of neurons around the tumour, which helps the cancer cells to keep growing and spreading. But, the team found that blocking Schwann cells - cells that surround and protect the neurons - could stop the network from developing and prevent metastasis. “This discovery paves the way for research into and the development of therapies that specifically block cancer metastasis, a process that is almost always the cause of death by cancer,” researcher Dr Gloria Pascual said. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/SalvadorAznar3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SalvadorAznar3</a>: “In this study, we detail the process and reveal the involvement of a metastatic capacity “memory” factor and we point to a therapeutic approach to reverse it. This is promising”. <a href="https://t.co/DW1zOpaIk8">pic.twitter.com/DW1zOpaIk8</a> — IRB Barcelona (@IRBBarcelona) <a href="https://twitter.com/IRBBarcelona/status/1458464584113827845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2021</a></blockquote> Helen Rippon, the chief executive at Worldwide Cancer Research, praised the work as a “huge breakthrough”. “This discovery is a huge breakthrough in our understanding of how diet and cancer are linked and, perhaps more importantly, how we can use this knowledge to start new cures for cancer,” she <a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/acid-found-in-palm-oil-encourages-cancer-spread-new-research-finds-c-4543186" target="_blank">said</a>. Ms Rippon said about 90 percent of cancer deaths across the world can be attributed to metastasis. “Learning more about what makes cancer spread and - importantly - how to stop it is the way forward to reduce those numbers.” Image: Getty Images / @worldwidecancerresearch (Instagram)

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Common ingredient found to encourage aggressive cancer spread

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