The findings, by Washington State University researchers, contradict the conclusions of a widely criticized 2013 study suggesting omega-3s increase the risk of prostate cancer. What distinguished the latest research was that the WSU scientists identified the mechanism by which omega-3s combat cancer — pointing the way to more effective anti-cancer drugs.
 

Scientists have long known that omega-3s reduce inflammation and have anti-diabetic effects, said Kathryn Meier, a professor of pharmacy at WSU Spokane, who helped conduct the new study.
 

"But we're the first to show that they work this way in cancer," she explained. "The attention has mostly been on inflammation and diabetes but there has always been an interest in cancer, and we were the first to show this mechanism in any cancer cell at all. And we're using prostate cancer, which is the most controversial subject in omega 3s."
 

Meier said it is still unclear if the benefits can be obtained by taking dietary supplements like fish oil.

"It's very difficult in dietary studies to tell how much to take or what form to take," Meier said.

"Should you be eating fish? Should you be taking pills? But now we have a potential drug. Once you have a drug you can test very precisely whether it works or not in a certain disease and you would know exactly how much to give people."
 

The study was published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.