Kelly's research will be presented at the American Society for Investigative Pathology annual meeting, which will be held in Philadelphia from April 2 to 5, 2022.
Omega-3 supplementation has the potential to boost immunotherapy and other anti-cancer treatments in the clinical context, according to the study. For the latest study, the researchers used cutting-edge animal models of primary and metastatic cancers. Throughout 10 days before tumour injection and for the length of the research, the mice were fed a conventional diet or a diet high in omega (3 or 6) fatty acids. Mice in each diet group were given immunotherapy, anti-inflammatory therapy, both therapies combination, or no treatment one week after the tumours were injected.
Dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation inhibited tumour growth in mice treated with immunotherapy, inhibitors, or both therapies at the same time, according to the researchers. Mice on a high-omega-6 diet and administered immunotherapy, on the other hand, reported accelerated tumour growth in specific tumour types.
According to the researchers, tumour growth was suppressed by up to 67 percent in mice fed a high omega-3 diet and both cancer treatments, compared to animals provided a normal diet and no treatment. This suggests that the cumulative effect could be higher than the sum of its parts, indicating synergistic anti-tumor efficacy.
For the first time, the research showed that when mice were fed diets high in omega-3 fatty acids, the combination of immunotherapy and anti-inflammatory treatment was more successful. Additional study is now being conducted to investigate the mechanism of action of omega-3 supplementation’s potentially synergistic anti-tumor efficacy.
To aid in translation to cancer patients, they are doing these investigations with human cancer tissues and cells, human immune cells, and animal models. The study’s new findings could point to a new treatment strategy that has to be tested in humans.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
