Omega-3 Fatty Acid Derivative Slows Tumor Growth by Blocking Formation of New Blood Vessels

The blocking of tumor growth was shown in a mouse cancer model to be due to EDP-mediated inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2)-induced angiogenesis. In cancer cell cultures, EDP also suppressed the endothelial cell migration needed for new blood vessels.

In contrast, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), metabolites of the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (ARA), slightly increased angiogenesis and tumor progression in mice.

“EDP works by a different mechanism than many current anticancer drugs that block angiogenesis,” said first author Dr. Guodong Zhang, a postdoctoral cancer researcher at the University of California, Davis. “Our investigation opens up a new understanding of the pathways by which omega-3 fatty acids exert their biologic effects. As far as we know, EDPs are the first signaling lipids that have been discovered to have such potent anticancer effects. Researchers may be able to use EDPs as structural targets to develop stable analogs as anticancer agents.”

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University of California, Davis