No association between fatty acid intake and adenomatous polyp recurrence in the polyp prevention trial.

Dietary fat intake and cancer risk have been investigated in detail in many populations, although the results have been inconsistent for colorectal cancer. Several molecular mechanisms have been proposed to explain how specific dietary fatty acids could alter colorectal cancer risk due to their involvement in varying physiologic functions (1). These include apoptosis, inflammation, cell proliferation, metastasis, gene expression, signal transduction, altered estrogen metabolism, free radical production, and mechanisms related to insulin sensitivity. Most previous studies have examined the association for total fat intake, fat from animal sources, or intake of the major classes of fat (saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat) on colorectal cancer risk. The aim of the current study was to assess the association between intake of specific fatty acids and adenoma recurrence to obtain a better understanding of the role of dietary fat and colorectal cancer risk. The fatty acids hypothesized to have an association a priori were the fish fatty acids (eicosapentanoic and docosahexanoic acid), linolenic acid, arachidonic acid, the n3:n6 ratio, saturated fat, and total fat intake.