A new study suggests that a fatty acid commonly found in palm oil may help certain cancers spread more easily through the body.
The research was led by Professor Salvador Aznar-Benitah at IRB Barcelona and published in the journal Nature.
Cancer becomes much more difficult to treat after it spreads from its original location to other parts of the body.
This process, known as metastasis, is responsible for most cancer deaths. Scientists have been searching for the factors that allow cancer cells to travel and grow in new organs.
In this study, researchers investigated palmitic acid, a fatty acid that is naturally found in palm oil and many processed foods. Palm oil is widely used in products such as cookies, chocolate, instant noodles, baked goods, and fast food because it is inexpensive and has a long shelf life.
The team tested the effects of palmitic acid in mice with oral cancer and melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer. They found that exposure to this fatty acid made the cancers much more likely to spread. Other common fatty acids, including oleic acid from olive oil and linoleic acid found in foods such as flaxseeds, did not produce the same effect.
The researchers discovered that palmitic acid caused long-lasting changes inside cancer cells. These are known as epigenetic changes, which affect how genes behave without changing the DNA itself. As a result, the cancer cells appeared to ‘remember’ their exposure to palmitic acid and continued acting more aggressively even after the fatty acid was no longer present.
The study also showed that palmitic acid changed the environment around tumors. Cancer cells developed stronger communication with nearby cells, helping them survive, grow, and establish themselves in new tissues after spreading through the body. These changes may explain why cancers exposed to palmitic acid became more aggressive.
The findings could open the door to new treatments. The research team is developing therapies designed to block the biological changes triggered by palmitic acid. They hope to begin testing these new treatments in people in the future, although more work is needed before they become available.
The scientists stress that the study does not prove people should avoid foods containing palm oil. The research was carried out in mice, and further studies are needed to determine whether the same effects occur in humans. Until more evidence is available, doctors are not recommending dietary changes based on these findings alone.
Even so, the research highlights the complex relationship between diet and cancer. Understanding how nutrients influence cancer cells could help scientists develop better treatments and improve future dietary advice for people at risk of cancer.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that a low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and berry that can prevent cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects the risks of heart disease and cancer and results showing vitamin D supplements could strongly reduce cancer death.
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