A new study by researchers at IRB Barcelona has found that a type of fat in palm oil, called palmitic acid, may help cancer spread more easily.
This process is known as metastasis, where cancer moves from one part of the body to another.
Metastasis is the main reason cancer can be deadly, and it is very hard to treat once it happens.
The researchers focused on two types of cancer—oral cancer and melanoma (a type of skin cancer). They discovered that when mice were fed palmitic acid, the cancer became more aggressive and spread faster.
What’s more, even when the palmitic acid was removed from the diet, the cancer cells continued to behave in a dangerous way.
This effect was not seen with other common fats, such as oleic acid (found in olive oil) and linoleic acid (found in flaxseeds). These fats did not seem to make cancer spread.
So, what makes palmitic acid different? The scientists found that this fat causes “epigenetic changes” in the cancer cells. That means the way the genes work is changed—but without changing the actual DNA.
These changes helped the cancer cells build a nerve-like network around the tumor. This network allowed the cancer to communicate better with nearby cells and spread more easily.
The good news is that the researchers may have found a way to block this process. They are now working on new treatments and planning clinical trials to stop cancer from spreading by targeting the effects of palmitic acid.
This study gives scientists a better understanding of how diet can affect cancer. It was led by Professor Salvador Aznar-Benitah and published in the journal Nature.
Still, doctors are not ready to recommend that cancer patients stop eating palm oil. More research is needed to know if eating less palmitic acid will actually slow cancer in people.
For now, the best advice is to eat a healthy, balanced diet and talk to your doctor before making any big changes. This research offers hope that one day we may be able to stop cancer from spreading by understanding how certain fats affect the body.
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