Sandy Hutchens Cancer Prevention

Can Olive Oil Prevent Breast Cancer?

Ana Ripoll, Rector of Universitat Aut-noma de Barcelona (UAB), and Pedro Barato, President of “Organizaci-n Interprofesional del Aceite de Oliva Espa-ol”, signed a research agreement to carry out an in depth study on how the intake of olive oil can work towards preventing and fighting against breast cancer. The Multidisciplinary Group on Breast Cancer Research (GMECM), directed by Dr Eduard Escrich, lecturer of the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, will be working on this research project during the next five years. GMECM has demonstrated in previous researches that a moderate intake of virgin olive oil slows down the spreading of this cancer.

Researchers at GMECM aim to determine the possible activity of common components of the human diet with the objective of formulating scientific opinions on the health of the population or levels of risk, all within the field of breast cancer prevention. Among the results obtained until now researchers highlight the fact that a moderate intake of virgin olive oil can slow down the spreading of this cancer due to the action of mechanisms which counterattack the possible harmful effects of fats, while an excessive intake of seed oils has damaging effects.

In the study, which will begin this coming year, researchers will continue to study the effects olive oil can have on this type of cancer, with experimental studies and with human cell lines and samples. Among the research studies to be carried out, some of the most prominent focus on the effects fats and oils can have on mammary tumours, and especially those of extra virgin olive oil, and an analysis of the molecular changes found in these tumours in all of the genome and in the specific genes implicated in this pathology.

Olive oil lowers risk of breast cancer

The Translational Genomics Research Institute and Scottsdale Healthcare have discovered lung cancer ‘pathways’ that could become targets for new drugs, according to a scientific paper published online today by the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

Dr. Glen Weiss, Director of Thoracic Oncology at TGen Clinical Research Services (TCRS) at Scottsdale Healthcare, said the study showed the value of conducting computer modeling, or “in silico” research.

TCRS is a partnership of TGen and Scottsdale Healthcare. The partnership allows molecular and genomic discoveries made by TGen and others around the world to reach the patient bedside in the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare as quickly as possible through clinical trials with agents directed at specific cancer targets.

Researchers hope that over time in silico research will help lower health care costs while speeding up the process of turning scientific discoveries into treatments for patients.

“There are pathways that you can identify just from an in silico analysis. And we can use these types of tools to explore treatments for patients, down the road,” said Dr. Weiss, an Associate Investigator in TGen’s Cancer and Cell Biology Division and the senior author of the paper, which will appear in print in JTO’s November edition.

The study sought to identify metabolic pathways — a series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell — that could be targeted by drugs in patients with both small-cell and large-cell lung cancers. Small-cell lung cancer represents about 15 percent of all lung cancers. The rest are classified as non-small cell lung cancer, of which large-cell lung cancer represents about 10 percent.

The study used publicly available data sets, searching for connections that may have been previously overlooked.

“Within those datasets, there are common pathways. We point out some examples that provide some proof-of-principle from the in silico search,” said Dr. Weiss, who was joined in his research by TGen’s Dr. Chris Kingsley and by Dr. Anoor Paripati of the Scottsdale Clinical Research Institute at Scottsdale Healthcare.

As an example, the study cites one particular signaling pathway, Wnt/ß-catenin, that could be targeted by two drugs, vorinostat and dasatinib, both of which are under study in clinical trials.

“This is an exploration of the publicly available data sets in an attempt to answer a new question. It shows that you can look at pathways and identify targets. We did our validation by looking at what’s been tested, or what’s available already,” Dr. Weiss said.

In silico research, which is far less costly than conducting genetic profiling analysis of cancer tumors, will become more common as the National Cancer Institute ramps up its cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid, also known as caBIG.

Such in silico research should lead to targets for further laboratory and clinical research, and also should help clinicians provide more personalized treatment for patients, Dr. Weiss said.

“There is going to be a wealth of profiling data out there in the near future. You can then apply techniques like this, and hopefully design smarter clinical trials to find the drugs that would work,” Dr. Weiss said.