Scientists at IRB Barcelona have found that a type of fat found in palm oil could make cancer more likely to spread in the body. This fat is called palmitic acid, and it is one of the building blocks of fat that we eat and store in our bodies.
The process of cancer spreading is called metastasis, and it is the main reason why cancer causes so many deaths. When cancer is found early, it can often be treated. But once it spreads, it becomes much harder to cure.
In this study, researchers looked at two types of cancer: oral cancer and melanoma, a serious kind of skin cancer. They found that palmitic acid made these cancers more likely to spread to other parts of the body.
Not all fats had this effect. For example, oleic acid (which is in olive oil) and linoleic acid (which is found in foods like flaxseeds) did not make cancer spread. This means that different fats may affect cancer in very different ways.
One of the most surprising parts of the study was that the harmful effects of palmitic acid lasted even after it was removed from the diet. Mice that ate palmitic acid for a short time still had cancer cells that were good at spreading, even after the fat was no longer in their food.
This happened because of changes in how the genes inside the cancer cells worked. These changes are called epigenetic changes. They don’t change the genes themselves, but they change how the genes behave. In this case, the cancer cells changed in a way that helped them connect with other cells and move around more easily.
The good news is that the scientists also found a way to block this harmful process. They are now working on treatments that could stop cancer from spreading by targeting the specific gene changes caused by palmitic acid. The next step will be clinical trials to see if this works in people.
For now, it’s not clear if changing your diet could help stop cancer from spreading. While it might seem smart to avoid palm oil or other foods with palmitic acid, scientists say we need more research to know for sure. Diet is a complex part of cancer care, and any changes should be made carefully.
This research helps us understand more about how what we eat can affect cancer. It shows that some fats may play a big role in how cancer behaves. The study was led by Professor Salvador Aznar-Benitah and published in the journal Nature.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and new way to increase the longevity of cancer survivors.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how to fight cancer with these anti-cancer superfoods, and results showing daily vitamin D3 supplementation may reduce cancer death risk.
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