Olive Oil may reduce HER2 risk

Hi HER2 Friends:

I have copy typed this article for you from a magazine since it doesn't appear to be published online to link to.

After reading this article, I think that I am going to self-dose myself with olive oil (approx 1 tablespoon @ day) as I am guessing that this might be equivilant to what a normal mediteranean diet would include.

New Scientist Magazine
Jan 15-21, 2005 edition
Article by Philip Cohen

Olive Oil May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

Olive oil could be the key to why the Mediteranean diet helps reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.

Epidemiological evidence has long suggested that one of the many benefits of the southern European diet is that it protects women against breast cancer. Now Javier Menendez at the Northwestern University Feinberg Schoold of Medicine in Chicago and his team have shown that oleic acid, the major fatty acid component of olive oil, blocks the production of a protein that boosts the growth of breast cancer cells. "It shows a moecular way in which it can fight cancer," says Menendez.

Previous attempts to uncover the secrets of olive oil's apparent anti-cancer powers have had mixed results. Some animal studies suggeset the oil can help protect agains tumours. Others suggest it has no effect, or even slightly increases the risk.

However, few of these studies looked at the effects of the oil's different components, which vary depending on the type of oil. Menendez realized this could be the cause of the mixed results.

In his study, the researchers applied oleic acid to human breast cancer cells growing in dishes. They used levels comparable to those found in the blood of people whos diets were rich in olive oil. They found the acid halved production of the HER2/neu protein, which plays a key role in about a fifth of breast cancers (Annals of Oncology, DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdi090).

These breast cancers acquire multiple copies of this gene and begin producing far too much of this protein, which is associated with fast-growing, aggressive tumours. Her2/neu is the target of the anti-cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), an antibody made by the biotch company Genentech.

In their tests, Menendz found that Herceptin reduces Her2/neu levels by 48 per cent, about as much as the oil. Intriguingly, treating the cancer cells with both oleic acid and Herceptin drove Her2/neu levels down still further, by as much as 70 per cent. That suggests that altering the diet of women with this kind of breast cancers could give the drug more kick.

Menendez hopes to start assessing the effects of oleic acid supplements in cancer patients soon. "Unlike many drugs, olive oil and oleic acid aren't at all toxic, so there's no reason not to try," he points out. He thinks manufacturers of olive oil and other oleic acid-rich oils such as sunflowers should start advertising the levels of total oleic acid they contain so that consumers can shoose the best product for a "cancer-prevention" salad. "Right now, oils aren't characterised in this regard," he says.

Instead, olive oil is classified partly by the level of free oleic acid, which makes the oil acid andthus less desirable. But the vast majorit of the fatty acid is locked up in larger fat molecules and is released only during digestion.


.....now isn't that interesting? Please forgive any typos you find.

Merridith