Scientists from IRB Barcelona have made a surprising discovery: a fatty acid found in palm oil, called palmitic acid, may help certain cancers spread more easily in the body.
This process, called metastasis, is what makes cancer so deadly. Even though many treatments exist, stopping cancer from spreading is still a big challenge. This new research gives us a better idea of how our diet might play a role.
Palmitic acid is commonly found in palm oil, which is used in many packaged foods like snacks, cookies, and even non-food items like soap. The study, led by Professor Salvador Aznar-Benitah and published in the journal Nature, focused on how this fatty acid affects cancers such as melanoma (a skin cancer) and oral cancer.
The team found that palmitic acid did more than just feed the cancer. It actually helped cancer cells become more aggressive and spread to other parts of the body. They discovered that this fatty acid caused long-lasting changes in the cancer cells. These are called epigenetic changes.
That means the way the cells use their genes changed, even though the DNA itself stayed the same. So, even after palmitic acid was no longer in the diet, the cancer cells “remembered” it and stayed highly dangerous.
To test this, the scientists fed mice a diet with added palmitic acid. They noticed that the cancer cells in these mice were much more likely to spread.
The cancer cells even created a kind of nerve network around the tumor, helping them send signals and grow more easily. This gave the cancer cells more control over their surroundings, helping them move to new areas in the body.
Interestingly, the researchers also looked at other fatty acids, like oleic acid (found in olive oil) and linoleic acid (found in flaxseeds). These did not seem to have the same effect. That suggests not all fats are bad, and some might even be neutral or helpful when it comes to cancer risk.
One of the most important parts of the study is that the harmful changes caused by palmitic acid were not temporary. The cancer cells kept their new abilities, which made them harder to treat. This shows why understanding the long-term effects of certain foods is so important.
Right now, the scientists are working on new treatments that could block these harmful effects. They hope to test these in clinical trials soon. If the treatments work, they could help stop cancer from spreading, which would be a big step forward in cancer care.
Even though this research is promising, the experts say it’s too early to tell people to completely avoid palm oil. More studies are needed to find out how much palmitic acid is too much and how it affects people, not just mice. Still, this study is a reminder that what we eat matters—especially for people at risk of cancer or already going through treatment.
This new understanding of how a common part of our diet might fuel cancer spread could lead to better prevention and treatment strategies in the future. It also shows the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet and staying informed about what’s in our food.
If you care about cancer risk, please read studies that exercise may stop cancer in its tracks, and vitamin D can cut cancer death risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that yogurt and high-fiber diet may cut lung cancer risk, and results showing that new cancer treatment may reawaken the immune system.
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