Adipose Tissue Fatty Acids in Breast Cancer Patients versus Healthy Control Women from Crete

• Published in: Annals of nutrition and metabolism Vol. 54; no. 4; pp. 275 - 282
• Main Authors: Mamalakis, G, Hatzis, C, Bree, E. de, Sanidas, E, Tsiftsis, D.D, Askoxylakis, J, Daskalakis, M, Tsibinos, G, Kafatos, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland S. Karger AG 01.01.2009
• Subjects: Adipose tissue; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; analysis; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - analysis; Body fat; Breast cancer; breast neoplasms; Breast Neoplasms - chemistry; Breast Neoplasms - epidemiology; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Buttocks; case studies; Case-Control Studies; chemistry; Crete; epidemiology; fatty acid composition; Fatty Acids; Fatty Acids - analysis; Female; Gas chromatography; Greece; Health risks; high fat diet; Humans; long term effects; Middle Aged; myristic acid; Myristic Acid - analysis; Neoplasm Staging; oleic acid; Oleic Acid - analysis; oncogenes; Original Paper; pathology; patients; Regression analysis; Risk Factors; saturated fatty acids; Statistics as Topic; Subcutaneous Fat; Subcutaneous Fat - chemistry; Tumor Burden; women; Young Adult; Crete; Greece; Human; Adipose tissue; Biomarkers; Case-control study; Breast cancer; Saturated fat; Fatty acids
• ISSN: 0250-6807; 1421-9697; 1421-9697
• DOI: 10.1159/000229508

Background: Few studies have implemented biomarkers of fatty acid intake in relation to breast cancer. Aims: To examine possible differences in adipose tissue fatty acid composition between breast cancer patients and healthy control women. The relationship between tumor promotion and adipose tissue fatty acid synthesis was also investigated. Methods: The study was conducted at the University of Crete. Subjects included 94 women with clinically diagnosed cancer of the breast and 131 healthy control women. Histological tumor grading and breast cancer staging were assessed. Fatty acids were determined by gas chromatography in gluteal adipose tissue. Results: Conditional logistic regression analysis controlling for potential confounders indicated that elevated adipose monounsaturated fatty acids and oleic acid are associated with reduced odds of breast cancer [OR (T2 vs. T1) 0.15; 95% CI 0.03-0.64, and OR (T2 vs. T1) 0.18; 95% CI 0.04-0.71, respectively]. Adipose myristic acid was associated with an increase in breast cancer risk [OR (T3 vs. T1) 5.66; 95% CI 1.3-23.9]. Conclusions: Adipose oleic acid is inversely related, whereas adipose myristic acid is positively related to breast cancer risk. These relations could be mediated by Her-2/neu and FAS oncogenes.