Evening Primrose Oil & HER2+

[RhondaH]

Is anyone taking Evening Primrose Oil (a couple of people sent me messages, but I was looking for others). I was going to talk to my onc about taking it (given the Northwestern study) and I wanted to know what others are doing. Thank you.

Rhonda Hoffman

[suzan w]

I am going to ask my onc. about it too. I heard about it on the news the other night (I live near Seattle). What is the study you referred to?

[Michelle]

Can you tell me what you heard about it on the news?

[RhondaH]

http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2005/11/gammalinolenic.html

[sassy]

I checked with my onc and he said he had patients who swore by it for hot flashes and he felt there would be no problem with taking with herceptin. I am taking a multi-oil supplement that has this and oleic. Does anyone know if this is sufficient.

Sassy
________
Wellbutrin pregnancy (http://www.classactionsettlements.org/lawsuit/wellbutrin/)

[Michelle]

Ok, here's another question-
I would love to know how much of this anyone is taking.Sorry for so many questions.

[RhondaH]

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,779,00.html

[Unregistered]

I have read the summary of the trial.

It was conducted in "vitro". It is interesting.

BUT the mechanisms are complex. GLA can be made in the body from linoleic acid omega six. There is a theory that some people cannot make GLA effectively and that is why it helps, but it is likely to be more complex.

In a trail with rats a proportion of the GLA was absorbed into the cells, but most was used in the linoeic acid chain and converted to Arachidonic Acid AA.

Omega six is used to produce GLA and later down the path AA which in turn is used to produce prostaglandins and Cyclo-oxegenase (COXs) as part of very complex and subtle mechanisms.

There is concern that overproduction may be a percussor of cancer amongst other things.

So caution would probably best the best advice, as intake in foods of all linoleic acids and derivatives should be considered as a whole. Please see the posts on the Articles of Interest which may help explain.

RB

[Christine MH-UK]

There is alot more linoleic acid in evening primrose oil than GLA, in fact the ratio is about 9:1 and linoleic acid seems to increase her2, at least in the cell dish, according to the most recent article in the articles submitted section.

[Rupali]

So it is important to understand how much EPO is good
People who are taking EPO, has anyone of you been told how to balance it with other things like FIsh Oil, olive oil etc....

[sarah]

An article on it appeared on www.medscape.com (http://www.medscape.com):
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/516567?src=mp (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/516567?src=mp)Gamma-Linolenic Acid Suppresses Breast Cancer Gene Expression in Vitro


NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Nov 11 - A component of evening primrose oil can suppress the cancer-promoting gene Her-2/neu, and also appears to increase breast cancer cells' responsiveness to the drug trastuzumab (Herceptin).

In a series of in vitro experiments, Dr. Ruth Lupu of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute in Illinois and colleagues showed that gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) reduced Her-2/neu protein levels in several types of human cancer cell lines.

Evening primrose oil is a traditional herbal medicine used to treat a variety of illnesses, Dr. Lupu and her team note in the November 2nd issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. GLA has been shown to be toxic to cancer cells without affecting healthy cells, they add, although its mechanism of action remains unclear.

In a previous study, the researchers had demonstrated that GLA reduced activation of a Her-2/neu-coded oncoprotein in breast cancer cell lines. They conducted the current investigation to determine whether this effect was due to changes in Her-2/neu gene expression, and whether effects would be seen in other types of cancers overexpressing the gene.

They tested the effect of GLA in three different Her-2/neu overexpressing breast cancer cell lines, as well as an ovarian cancer cell line and a gastrointestinal tumor cell line engineered to overexpress the gene. In all of the cell lines, the researchers found, GLA led to a "dramatic decrease" in activity of the Her-2/neu promoter. At the same time, expression of a gene responsible for repressing Her-2/neu, polyomavirus enhancer activator 3, increased.

Treating breast cancer cells with a combination of GLA and trastuzumab, the researchers found, increased apoptosis synergistically. Adding GLA boosted the cells' sensitivity to the drug by 30- to 40-fold.

"Although extensive preclinical and clinical studies are necessary before GLA can enter clinical trials, our findings suggest that future studies assessing the clinical relevance of GLA-regulated Her-2/neu promoter activity are warranted," the researchers conclude.

J Natl Cancer Inst 2005;97:1611-1615.

[Unregistered]

I cannot get access to the article as I have not subscribed.

I think I have seen a summary elsewhere.

Evening Primrose oil is reported as 75% linoleic (omega six) 10% GLA.

GLA is part of the eicosanoid pathway and it is made in the body from Linoleic acid.

It is reported GLA can be converted to Arachidonic Acid AA which among other thing is turned into Cox 2s.

The point is in the body how much GLA is used in lipid or phospholipid form which may be the part that helps in cancer terms as against being turned into something else.

I would suggest caution research and consideration of looking at the overall omega six intake and balancing with omega three etc. It is a question of balancing the likelihood of the possible benifit from GLA against downsides of adding to omega six consumption, and the possiblity GLA is used to make AA.

On the other hand there are suggestions that it is used preferentially in another pathway (series 1)

I have seen a trial on of GLA rats and if I find it I will post a link as it explains the some of the pathways.

Borage oil has a higher level of GLA and lower linoleic and so would possibly be a much better source if chosen as a supplement. Linoleic 39% GLA 24%

Some people are theorised as having difficulty in making GLA from linoleic acid and this is suggested as part of the reson it is effective.

But please do think about trying to get towards an omega three to six balance of one -one which I am much more confident about saying is a must to consider.

The American Cancer Society web site has some information in it. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Gamma_Linolenic_Acid.asp?sitearea=ETO


I hope the above is some help - my head is spaggetti too.

RB

[naturalhealth]

Well, that was definitely an interesting study. I would also recommend doing a little more research on the topic if you can at all. If GLA is the key component in the evening primrose oil that is combating the cancer, then it seems you should focus on that a bit more Borage oil (http://www.seacoastvitamins.com/supplement/planetary-herbals-borage-super-gla-1300mg-60-softgels-4535) does have a higher concentration of GLA than evening primrose oil, so it seems like that might be the better option between the two. I'm not sure why the study wouldn't have focused more on that. However, I'm not an expert in that area, and it would probably be a good idea to do a bit more research into the two. And definitely talk with your onc about both before adding either into your daily supplement regime.

[Laurel]

I've never met a doc who knows a thing about nutrition or supplements. Nutrition is a 2 week course in med school. They know zilch. There is something deleterious about the borage oil, but I cannot recall what it is. Too tired to look for you tonight. I have taken primrose oil in a dosage of 1300mg 2x/day.

[sarah]

Interesting. RB you have convinced me over the years to avoid omega 6 and only add in omega 3 since we seem to get too much in our normal diets of omega 6, so if GLA is an omega 6, I would assume it was not something we should add into our diets.
sarah
ps agree oncs don't seem to know much about supplements however at St. Joseph's in Burbank (LA), California, they were starting a department to look into all of those issues, don't know where it's at today. Also my GP is quite knowledgeable although I doubt she would consider hereself an expert either.
I think we would all like some simple guide that could say if you're HER2+, ER+ (or ER-), etc, it's good to take such and such for this and that reason. but things change weekly it seems sometimes.