Consumption of n-3 Fatty Acids and Fish Reduces Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Gastroenterology, 06/04/2012
Clinical Article
Sawada N et al. – Consumption of n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)–rich fish or n–3 PUFAs, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), appears to protect against the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), even among subjects with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
Methods- The authors investigated the association between fish and n-3 PUFA consumption and HCC incidence (n=398) in a population-based prospective cohort study of 90,296 Japanese subjects (aged, 45-74 y).
- Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the highest vs the lowest quintile were estimated from multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models.
- They also conducted subanalyses of subjects with known hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) status, and of subjects who were anti-HCV and/or hepatitis B surface antigen positive.
- All tests of statistical significance were 2-sided.
- Among all subjects, consumption of n-3 PUFA-rich fish and individual n-3 PUFAs was associated inversely with HCC, in a dose-dependent manner.
- Hazard ratios for the highest vs lowest quintiles were 0.64 (95% CI, 0.42-0.96) for n-3 PUFA-rich fish, 0.56 (95% CI, 0.36-0.85) for EPA, 0.64 (95% CI, 0.41-0.98) for DPA, and 0.56 (95% CI, 0.35-0.87) for DHA.
