The helpful properties of olive oil

AlaskaAngel

I've been reading the recent publicity about the effects of olive oil for cancer.

I started using olive oil 2 years ago for most things that call for oil in my diet just because most of the writers I respected were pushing it. (So far I'm NED, maybe that counts for something... although admittedly I am stage 1 to begin with.)

The recent info about olive oil made me wonder what would happen if olive oil were somehow used topically for IBC... and then I started wondering if something as harmless as olive oil were sprayed on the surgical site after lumpectomy or mastectomy...

Sometimes old wives tales have some very real basis to them.

PURELY SPECULATING,

AlaskAngel
_________________
Dx Dec 2001 at age 50
Lumpectomy Jan 2002, 1.6 cm IDC plus some DCIS
Node neg
ER+, PR+, HER2+++
CAF x 6, 35 rads+boost
NED
Tamoxfen 1 3/4 yrs
In 2 clinical trials
bc for mom and 1 sis and 1 aunt and 1 granny
ovarian cancer for 1 aunt

Roxi1

Hi Alaska Angel
I too have been very intrigued by the research on olive oil. We only cooked with olive oil, but I am now using it on my salads, bread, etc..

For those who might be interested, copied the most recent article which I have read on olive oil, and Her2/neu expression.Olive Oil Aids Breast Cancer Fight

Jean Louis Santini

Olive oil can help fight breast cancer, a discovery that researchers said could guide the development of related treatment.

"Our findings underpin epidemiological studies that show that the Mediterranean diet has significant protective effects against cancer, heart disease and ageing," said the study's lead author Javier Menendez, of Northwestern University's Feinberg medical school in Chicago.

Researchers showed in a series of laboratory experiments on breast cancer cells that oleic acid, found in olive oil, dramatically cuts the levels of a cancer-promoting gene called Her-2/neu (also known as erb B-2), according to Menendez.

High levels of the gene occur in over a fifth of breast cancer patients and are associated with highly aggressive tumors that have a poor prognosis, according to findings reported in the January 10 Annals of Oncology.

Oleic acid suppressed the gene, and other tests showed that it boosted an antibody treatment trastuzumab (Herceptin), which targets the gene and has helped to prolong the lives of many breast cancer patients, the researchers said.

Menendez said the findings should not only help in understanding the molecular mechanisms by which individual dietary fatty acids regulate the malignant behavior of breast cancer cells, but also suggested eating oleic acid may help Herceptin work in breast cancer patients with the Her-2/neu gene.

"To our knowledge this is the first report that a dietary monounsaturated fatty acid previously suggested to be protective against breast cancer significantly down-regulates the expression of Her-2/neu, cutting it by up to 46 percent. Her-2/neu is one of the most important oncogenes in breast cancer," said Menendez.

"In our tests, oleic acid's inhibition of Her-2/neu synergistically interacted with Herceptin-based immunotherapy by promoting the death of breast cancer cells exhibiting high levels of the oncogene.

"Additionally, alongside the sensitizing effect of oleic acid on the efficacy of Herceptin we found it increased the expression of a protein (p27Kip1), a tumor suppresser protein, which is implicated in the development of resistance to Herceptin treatment."

Menendez worked with Ruth Lupu, director of the Evanston Northwestern Health Research Institute's Breast Cancer Translational Program and Ramon Colomer, head of the Medical Oncology Division at Institut Catala d' Oncologia in Girona, Spain
_________________
Roxanne
Lumpectomy R. Breast 1/5/05, Post-Menopausal
1.2 cm invasive ductal CA
Histology Grade 2
Estrogen/Progesterone +
Her-2/neu Negative
Nodes negative, 2 Sentinel, 8 other nodes
RT 28+5, Tamoxifen (as osteoporosis)

leo · Site Admin Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1574

Hello

In the diet, olive oil may be healthier than other oils. But it is not to be used topically for anything, including inflammatory breast cancer. Remember, all these headlines that come out are often distorted by journalists to gain more readers. Please take care about what you get from the media.

best regards,
Leo
_________________
Leonardo F - Webmaster Cancer Forums
Disclaimer: this information is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice.

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