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Olive Oil Reduces Breast Cancer Risk
Researchers have found a very good reason to include olive oil as part of a regular diet, it appears
to cut the risk of developing breast cancer. In laboratory tests, researchers from
Northwest University in Chicago, found a fatty acid in olive oil called oleic acid, cuts the production
of a protein produced by the breast cancer gene that triggers the cancer.
Oleic acid, according to the study, also boosts the effectiveness of a drug called herceptin,
which is used to prolong the lives of patients with breast cancer. The finding may explain why
the Mediterranean diet appears to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. The Mediterranean
diet is rich in fish, fruit, vegetables and olive oil. Studies of people from southern Europe have
suggested that the diet can reduce one's risk of death from heart disease and cancer, but direct
experiments on animals have given inconsistent results.
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Not only did oleic acid suppress over-expression of the gene, other tests on the cell lines
showed that it also boosted the effectiveness of trastuzumab (Herceptin), the monoclonal
antibody treatment that targets the Her-2/neu gene and has helped to prolong the lives of many
breast cancer patients. The dietary monounsaturated fatty acid which significantly down-regulates
the expression of Her-2/neu, cutting it by up to 46 percent. Her-2/neu is one of the most important
oncogenes in breast cancer.
Their tests also revealed that oleic acid's inhibition of Her- 2/neu synergistically interacted
with Herceptin-based immunotherapy by promoting the death of breast cancer cells exhibiting high
levels of the oncogene.
Additionally, alongside the sensitising effect of oleic acid on the
efficacy of Herceptin it was found that it increased the expression of a protein (p27Kip1), a
tumor suppresser protein.
Researchers concluded that their findings presented the concept that a higher level of oleic acid in
breast tissue could provide an effective means of influencing the outcome of breast cancer in patients
carrying high levels of the gene.
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www.reuters.com
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