BRITS may be unknowingly raising their risk of a deadly form of breast cancer by cooking with seed oils, cancer experts have warned.
Doctors think – a type of fat found in oils like sunflower and soybean – feeds cancer cells when heated during .
Because of this home cooks should “moderate”; their use of these oils, “especially high-risk individuals,”; Professor Justin Stebbing, an oncologist from Anglia Ruskin University, said.
“Many oils such as olive oil contain less linoleic acid,”; he added.
The warning comes after a new study found linoleic acid overstimulates a key control centre inside cells.
This fuels the growth of triple-negative – the most aggressive form of the disease.
Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York found this out by performing tests on mice.
They fed one group a high linoleic-acid oil and compared tumour growth to a control group, who got none.
The mice that consumed linoleic acid developed significantly larger tumours.
They also found high levels of linoleic acid in blood samples from human patients with triple-negative breast .
Dr John Blenis, senior author of the study, said: “We now know that linoleic acid feeds cancer cell growth in a very specific way.
“This discovery sheds light on how to define which patients might benefit from specific nutritional recommendations.”;
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK, affecting one in seven women, according to .
Each year, around 56,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer – and that figure jumps to about 300,000 in the US.
Around 85 per cent of women survive at least five years after being diagnosed.
But triple-negative breast cancer, which makes up 15 per cent of cases in the UK and US, is much harder to treat and much more aggressive.
It spreads faster and doesn’t respond to common hormone treatments like oestrogen blockers.
On average, 77 per cent of women with this type survive five years or more.
But if it’s caught late, that figure can drop to just 12 per cent.
Last year, Australian scientists unveiled a promising new pill, called CDDD11-8, which could help slow the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells.
Researchers from the University of Adelaide said it had the potential to become a breakthrough treatment option for women facing this aggressive form of the disease.
‘It’s one piece of a vast puzzle'
“The findings do not warrant blanket avoidance of seed oils but suggest moderation and selectivity, especially for high-risk individuals,”; Prof Justin wrote, in a piece for The Conversation.
“Do also consider eating more fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
“While linoleic acid’s role in triple-negative breast cancer is a critical discovery, it’s one piece of a vast puzzle.
“A balanced, wholefood diet remains an important cornerstone of cancer prevention, and a strategy everyone can adopt.”;
