Co-Administration of Fish Oil With Signal Transduction Inhibitors Has Anti-Migration Effects in Breast Cancer Cell Lines, .

BACKGROUND

There is an urgent need for new therapies to treat cancer metastasis. Fish oil, with high omega 3 fatty acid content, has shown anticancer activity and signal transduction inhibitors have shown anti-metastatic properties.

OBJECTIVE

To provide preliminary data on the anti-migration potential of signal transduction inhibitors and co-administered fish oil.

METHODS

MCF-7, TamR and FasR breast cancer cell lines were used to determine the effects of combinations of PD98059, LY294002 and fish oil in growth assays. Modulations of p-Src and COX-2, both mediators of motility and invasion, were then determined by Western blotting and IHC to ascertain effects on migration potential.

RESULTS

Migration rates for the three cell lines examined were ranked: FasR>TamR>MCF-7 ( <0.05). Addition of fish oil reduced the number of TamR cells migrating after 48h ( <0.05), while the addition of PD98059 and LY294002 also decreased migratory potential of TamR cells ( <0.05). Addition of PD98059 and LY294002 to TamR cells did not result in a significant decrease in p-Src levels; as was the case when PD98059, LY294002 and 4-hydroxytamoxifen were added to MCF-7 cells. However, the co-administration of fish oil markedly reduced p-Src and COX-2 expression in both cell lines.

CONCLUSION

Co-administration of a commercial fish oil with signal transduction inhibitors results in decreased cell migration an unknown co-operative mechanism and could constitute a novel approach for the treatment of breast cancer metastasis.