Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Inflammation and Cancer Progression in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Abstract
Scientific Objective and Rationale: Although androgen deprivation therapy (treatment to lower the male hormone testosterone) is an effective treatment for advanced prostate cancer, in many cases the prostate cancer becomes resistant to this treatment at which point it is termed castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Although effective therapies are available for CRPC, the cancer eventually becomes resistant to these therapies often leading to pain, suffering, and death. The therapies for CRPC can also have significant side effects. Based on prior work done by my mentor, Dr. Aronson, and other investigators, dietary therapies hold tremendous promise to improve the efficacy of the standard therapies for advanced prostate cancer and to potentially offset side effects of the existing therapies. Of great interest, recent laboratory studies have demonstrated that the patient s immune system white blood cells invade CRPC and actually promote the progression of the cancer. Exciting results from my preliminary studies and from other investigators suggest that dietary therapies with omega-3 fatty acids found in fish may counteract the progression of CRPC by favorably altering the patient s immune system. In this training grant, I plan to use a completely novel approach to performing mouse experiments to determine if a fish oil-based diet delays the development and progression of CRPC. I also plan to examine how the fish oil diet favorably alters the body s immune system to delay the cancer progression. Principal Investigator s Career Goals: I have laid out a detailed and well-structured training plan to help me achieve my goal of becoming a fully independent highly productive prostate cancer researcher with a focus on nutritional therapies. First and foremost, my mentors, Dr. Aronson and Dr. Wu, are leaders in their respective fields. Dr. Aronson and his research team have made great progress and published numerous articles on the important potential role of dietary therapies and fish oil-based diets for delaying the progression of prostate cancer. Likewise, Dr. Wu has a vast experience with the molecular and immunologic causes of prostate cancer progression. In addition, UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) has numerous collaborative prostate cancer researchers, making UCLA an ideal training environment for me to achieve my goals and become an independent and productive researcher. My training plan includes weekly laboratory meetings where I will present my data and monthly scientific Journal Clubs where I will present and review studies with my colleagues. I will attend monthly lectures at UCLA given by experts in the field of prostate cancer, and I will take graduate courses at UCLA in immunology and cancer research. In addition, I have clearly outlined my research plan to assure that I achieve my stated goals. Applicability of the Research: I have designed my project so it has direct applicability to helping patients with advancing prostate cancer. The animal and basic laboratory experiments I designed will directly assess if dietary omega-3 fatty acids have the potential to delay the growth of advancing prostate cancer and are designed to provide an important understanding of how the diet affects cancer progression through effects on the immune system. Positive findings will lead to studies in which we will combine a fish oil diet with androgen deprivation therapy to delay the development of CRPC or the fish oil diet will be combined with established therapies to treat CRPC. Whereas combination therapy studies using different pharmaceutical drugs are extremely costly and difficult to perform, studies using fish oil will be readily achievable within the next 3-5 years. In addition, a healthy diet with fish oil would likely be nontoxic and may potentially reduce side effects from other therapies that patients are receiving. Likely Contributions to Advancing the Field of Prostate Cancer: Wh
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 29, 2016
- Source ID
- W81XWH1510427
Entities
People
- Pei Liang
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of California, Los Angeles