Marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in adipose tissue and breast cancer risk: a case-cohort study from Denmark.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the content of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in adipose tissue, a biomarker for the long-term intake of seafood, and the subsequent development of breast cancer (BC).


METHODS
We designed a case-cohort study based on a cohort of healthy Danish women, who in the 1990 s donated adipose tissue biopsies to a biobank in order to investigate the role of diet for the development of cancer and chronic disease. During follow-up, incident cases of BC were identified through national registries, and the content of n-3 PUFA in adipose tissue was compared between cases and the cohort sample.


RESULTS
During follow-up, 463 new cases of BC were identified. After adjusting for potential confounders, no significant association between the content of marine n-3 PUFA and BC was found. When comparing the highest with the lowest quintile, the hazard ratio (HR) was 0.96 (95% CI 0.64-1.43) for total marine n-3 PUFA, 0.84 (95% CI 0.58-1.23) for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and 1.08 (95% CI 0.73-1.58) for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).


CONCLUSIONS
This study does not indicate any association between the content of total or individual marine n-3 PUFA in adipose tissue and development of BC.
Witt
Petra M
PM
Department of Oncology, Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, Hobrovej 18-22, 9100, Aalborg, Denmark. p.witt@rn.dk
Christensen
Jeppe H
JH
Schmidt
Erik B
EB
Dethlefsen
Claus
C
Tjønneland
Anne
A
Overvad
Kim
K
Ewertz
Marianne
M
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000737:chemistry*; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003718:Denmark; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012307:Risk Factors
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3