Fish oil found to kill leukemia cells

The many health benefits of fish oil have been well established. And latest research has discovered that an Omega-3 fatty acid compound, which is found in fish oil, has the potential to cure leukemia or, more specifically, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

Researchers from Penn State, led by Sandeep Prabhu, associate professor of immunology and molecular toxicology in the Department of Veterinary and Medical Sciences, discovered that the fish oil compound, delta-12-protaglandin J3 (D12-PGJ3) specifically target and kill the stem cells of CML in mice.

Prabhu notes,

“Research in the past on fatty acids has shown the health benefits of fatty acids on cardiovascular system and brain development, particularly in infants, but we have shown that some metabolites of Omega-3 have the ability to selectively kill the leukemia-causing stem cells in mice.”    

He explains that stem cells are the ones responsible for the division and production of cancer cells and the creation of more stem cells. The compound targeted the leukemia stem cells in the mice’s bone marrow and spleen. Prabhu adds that, after treatment with D12-PGJ3, the mice’s blood count tested normal and their spleen returned to its normal size; the leukemia did not relapse which meant that the mice were completely cured.

According to the researchers, the compound – which is derived from the Omega-3 fatty acid Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) – killed CML stem cells by activating a gene in the stem cell programs the leukemia cell’s own death.

Currently, treatment for patients with CML only delays the progression of the cancer, extending the patient’s life, by controlling the division of cancer cells, keeping their numbers low. Robert Paulson, associate professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences and the study’s co-author, adds that current leukemia drugs must be taken continuously, otherwise the disease relapses because they don’t target and kill the stem cells. “These stem cells can hide from the treatment, and a small population of stem cells give[s] rise to more leukemia cells. So, targeting the stem cells is essential if you want to cure leukemia.”

The next step in the study is to determine if D12-PGJ3 can also be used to treat patients with terminal stage CML, a stage that still has no available treatment.