How dietary fats in palm oil help cancer to spread around the body

Metastasis – or the spread – of cancer remains the main cause of death in cancer patients and the vast majority of people with metastatic cancer can only be treated, but not cured. Fatty acids are the building blocks of fat in our body and the food we eat. Metastasis is promoted by fatty acids in our diet, but it has been unclear how this works and whether all fatty acids contribute to metastasis.

Newly published findings, led by researchers at IRB Barcelona, Spain, reveal that one such fatty acid commonly found in palm oil, called palmitic acid, promotes metastasis in oral carcinomas and melanoma skin cancer in mice. Other fatty acids called oleic acid and linoleic acid – omega-9 and omega-6 fats found in foods such as olive oil and flaxseeds – did not show the same effect. Neither of the fatty acids tested increased the risk of developing cancer in the first place.

The scientists found that when palmitic acid was supplemented into the diet of mice, it not only contributed to metastasis, but also exerts long-term effects on the genome. Cancer cells that had only been exposed to palmitic acid in the diet for a short period of time remained highly metastatic even when the palmitic acid had been removed from the diet.

By uncovering how this happens, the researchers figured out a way to block it and are now in the process of planning a clinical trial to stop metastasis in different types of cancer using drugs being developed by ONA Therapeutics, a start-up co-founded by senior author of the study Professor Salvador Aznar-Benitah.

Metastasis is estimated to be responsible for 90% of all cancer deaths - that’s around 9 million deaths per year globally. Learning more about what makes cancer spread and – importantly – how to stop it is the way forward to reduce these numbers.

Discovery research like this is incredibly exciting because it marks the beginning of a journey that will ultimately lead to more lives saved and more time spent with loved ones. We are all very excited to see the results from this clinical trial and the future impact these findings might have on people with metastatic cancer.