Korean J Nutr.  2009 Apr;42(3):213-220. 10.4163/kjn.2009.42.3.213.

Serum Phospholipid Fatty Acids in Benign Breast Tumor and Breast Cancer

• Shim E
• Ahn SH
• Hwang YJ
• Lee-Kim YC

• KMID: 2264721
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2009.42.3.213

Abstract

Studies on the relationship between blood fatty acids and the risk of breast cancer have not yielded definite conclusions. The role of fatty acids in the development and progression of breast cancer is unclear. We conducted a case-control study to determine serum phospholipid fatty acid composition in benign breast tumor and breast cancer. Subjects consisted of 27 benign breast tumor and 68 breast cancer patients, and 28 matched controls. The levels of fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography. Higher arachidonic and palmitic acids were observed in breast cancer patients as compared with control and benign breast tumor patients. The percentage of total saturated fatty acids in breast cancer was higher than in control and benign breast tumor patients. The level of stearic acid was lower in benign breast tumor and breast cancer patients. Saturation index, the ratio of stearic to oleic acid, was lower in benign breast tumor and breast cancer patients compared to the control. Moreover, stearic acid was negatively and arachidonic acid was positively correlated with the cancer stage. In conclusion, our results support that serum phospholipid compositions of specific fatty acids are associated with the risk of benign breast tumor as well as breast cancer. Further studies are necessary to investigate mechanisms linked to the breast cancer etiology.

Keyword

breast cancer; benign breast tumor; serum phospholipid fatty acids; case-control study

MeSH Terms

Arachidonic Acid
Breast
Breast Neoplasms
Case-Control Studies
Chromatography, Gas
Fatty Acids
Humans
Oleic Acid
Palmitic Acid
Palmitic Acids
Stearic Acids
Arachidonic Acid
Fatty Acids
Oleic Acid
Palmitic Acid
Palmitic Acids
Stearic Acids

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Percentage of arachidonic acid in serum phospholipid of breast cancer patients based on cancer stage and lymph node status. Values are means ± SEM. Analysis of variance (Student-Newman-Keuls test) was performed to test the difference between means of each tumor stage groups. Student's t-test was performed to test the difference between means of lymph nodal metastasis groups. Bars with different letters or an asterisk are significantly different at p < 0.05.

• 

  Fig. 2 Percentage of stearic acid in serum phospholipid of breast cancer patients based on cancer stage. Values are means ± SEM. Analysis of variance (Student-Newman-Keuls test) was performed to test the difference between means of each tumor stage groups. Bars with different letters are significantly different at p < 0.05.

Reference

1. Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs. Cancer Incidence in Korea 1999-2005. 2005. Seoul:

2. Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P. Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin. 2005. 55(2):74–108.

3. Nelson NJ. Migrant studies aid the search for factors linked to breast cancer risk. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006. 98(7):436–438.

4. Simopoulos AP. The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Exp Biol Med. 2008. 233(6):674–688.

5. Chen YQ, Edwards IJ, Kridel SJ, Thornburg T, Berquin IM. Dietary fat-gene interactions in cancer. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2007. 26(3-4):535–551.

6. Berquin IM, Edwards IJ, Chen YQ. Multi-targeted therapy of cancer by omega-3 fatty acids. Cancer Lett. 2008. 269(2):363–377.

7. Boyd NF, Stone J, Vogt KN, Connelly BS, Martin LJ, Minkin S. Dietary fat and breast cancer risk revisited: a meta-analysis of the published literature. Br J Cancer. 2003. 89(9):1672–1685.

8. Smith-Warner SA, Stampfer MJ. Fat intake and breast cancer revisited. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007. 99(6):418–419.

9. Thiébaut AC, Kipnis V, Chang SC, Subar AF, Thompson FE, Rosenberg PS, Hollenbeck AR, Leitzmann M, Schatzkin A. Dietary fat and postmenopausal invasive breast cancer in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007. 99(6):451–462.

10. Saadatian-Elahi M, Toniolo P, Ferrari P, Goudable J, Akhmedkhanov A, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Riboli E. Serum fatty acids and risk of breast cancer in a nested case-control study of the New York University Women's Health Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002. 11(11):1353–1360.

11. Riccardi G, Giacco R, Rivellese AA. Dietary fat, insulin sensitivity and the metabolic syndrome. Clin Nutr. 2004. 23(4):447–456.

12. Scaglia N, Igal RA. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase is involved in the control of proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, and survival in human transformed cells. J Biol Chem. 2005. 280(27):25339–25349.

13. Fermor BF, Masters JR, Wood CB, Miller J, Apostolov K, Habib NA. Fatty-acid composition of normal and malignant cells and cytotoxicity of stearic, oleic and sterculic acids in vitro. Eur J Cancer. 1992. 28A(6-7):1143–1147.

14. Chajès V, Hultén K, Van Kappel AL, Winkvist A, Kaaks R, Hallmans G, Lenner P, Riboli E. Fatty-acid composition in serum phospholipids and risk of breast cancer: an incident case-control study in Sweden. Int J Cancer. 1999. 83(5):585–590.

15. Pala V, Krogh V, Muti P, Chajès V, Riboli E, Micheli A, Saadatian M, Sieri S, Berrino F. Erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and subsequent breast cancer: a prospective Italian study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2001. 93(14):1088–1095.

16. Shannon J, King IB, Moshofsky R, Lampe JW, Gao DL, Ray RM, Thomas DB. Erythrocyte fatty acids and breast cancer risk: a case-control study in Shanghai, China. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007. 85(4):1090–1097.

17. Ma J, Folsom AR, Shahar E, Eckfeldt JH. Plasma fatty acid composition as an indicator of habitual dietary fat intake in middle-aged adults. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study Investigators. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995. 62(3):564–571.

18. Olveira G, Dorado A, Olveira C, Padilla A, Rojo-Martínez G, García-Escobar E, Gaspar I, Gonzalo M, Soriguer F. Serum phospholipid fatty acid profile and dietary intake in an adult Mediterranean population with cystic fibrosis. Br J Nutr. 2006. 96(2):343–349.

19. Russo J, Moral R, Balogh GA, Mailo D, Russo IH. The protective role of pregnancy in breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res. 2005. 7(3):131–142.

20. Larsson SC, Kumlin M, Ingelman-Sundberg M, Wolk A. Dietary long-chain n-3 fatty acids for the prevention of cancer: a review of potential mechanisms. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004. 79(6):935–945.

21. Terry PD, Rohan TE, Wolk A. Intakes of fish and marine fatty acids and the risks of cancers of the breast and prostate and of other hormone-related cancers: a review of the epidemiologic evidence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003. 77(3):532–543.

22. MacLean CH, Newberry SJ, Mojica WA, Khanna P, Issa AM, Suttorp MJ, Lim YW, Traina SB, Hilton L, Garland R, Morton SC. Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on cancer risk: a systematic review. JAMA. 2006. 295(4):403–415.

23. Kuriki K, Hirose K, Wakai K, Matsuo K, Ito H, Suzuki T, Hiraki A, Saito T, Iwata H, Tatematsu M, Tajima K. Breast cancer risk and erythrocyte compositions of n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids in Japanese. Int J Cancer. 2007. 121(2):377–385.

24. Chajés V, Lanson M, Fetissof F, Lhuillery C, Bougnoux P. Membrane fatty acids of breast carcinoma: contribution of host fatty acids and tumor properties. Int J Cancer. 1995. 63(2):169–175.

25. Pockaj BA, Basu GD, Pathangey LB, Gray RJ, Hernandez JL, Gendler SJ, Mukherjee P. Reduced T-cell and dendritic cell function is related to cyclooxygenase-2 overexpression and prostaglandin E2 secretion in patients with breast cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2004. 11(3):328–339.

26. Cao J, Schwichtenberg KA, Hanson NQ, Tsai MY. Incorporation and clearance of omega-3 fatty acids in erythrocyte membranes and plasma phospholipids. Clin Chem. 2006. 52(12):2265–2272.

27. de Alaniz MJ, Marra CA. Steroid hormones and fatty acid desaturases. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2003. 68(2):163–170.

28. Hartmann LC, Sellers TA, Frost MH, Lingle WL, Degnim AC, Ghosh K, Vierkant RA, Maloney SD, Pankratz VS, Hillman DW, Suman VJ, Johnson J, Blake C, Tlsty T, Vachon CM, Melton LJ 3rd, Visscher DW. Benign breast disease and the risk of breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2005. 353(3):229–237.

29. Wang J, Costantino JP, Tan-Chiu E, Wickerham DL, Paik S, Wolmark N. Lower-category benign breast disease and the risk of invasive breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2004. 96(8):616–620.

30. Liu H, Liu Y, Zhang JT. A new mechanism of drug resistance in breast cancer cells: fatty acid synthase overexpression-mediated palmitate overproduction. Mol Cancer Ther. 2008. 7(2):263–270.

31. Marra CA, Mangionil JO, Tavella M, del Alaniz MJ, Ortiz D, Sala C. Hormonal-induced changes on the lipid composition and DPH fluorescence anisotropy of erythrocyte ghost from pre- and postmenopausal women. Acta Physiol Pharmacol Ther Latinoam. 1998. 48(1):8–17.

32. Choi Y, Park Y, Storkson JM, Pariza MW, Ntambi JM. Inhibition of stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity by the cis-9, trans-11 isomer and the trans-10, cis-12 isomer of conjugated linoleic acid in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2002. 294(4):785–790.

33. Wood CB, Habib NA, Thompson A, Bradpiece H, Smadja C, Hershman M, Barker W, Apostolov K. Increase of oleic acid in erythrocytes associated with malignancies. Br Med J. 1985. 291(6489):163–165.

34. Mannello F, Qin W, Zhu W, Fabbri L, Tonti GA, Sauter ER. Nipple aspirate fluids from women with breast cancer contain increased levels of group IIa secretory phospholipase A2. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2008. 111(2):209–218.

35. Wang J, John EM, Ingles SA. 5-lipoxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein gene polymorphisms, dietary linoleic acid, and risk for breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008. 17(10):2748–2754.

36. Bougnoux P, Chajes V, Lanson M, Hacene K, Body G, Couet C, Le Floch O. Prognostic significance of tumor phosphatidylcholine stearic acid level in breast carcinoma. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 1991. 20(3):185–194.