Dr. Ian Corbin (left) and Dr. Xiaodong Wen look over lab samples from their study of an experimental nanoparticle therapy that shows promise for fighting primary liver cancer. Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center
“This approach offers a potentially new and safe way of treating liver cancer, and possibly other cancers,” said study Assistant Professor/ Dr. Ian Corbin . “The method utilizes the cholesterol carrier LDL, combined with fish oil to produce a unique nanoparticle that is selectively toxic to cancer cells.”
Primary liver cancer, or hepatocellular carcinoma, is the 6th most prevalent type of cancer and 3rd-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Incidence of the disease is rising in the US, principally in relation to the spread of hepatitis C.
Fish oils are particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid, also known as DHA. A 2012 study in Gastroenterology found that consumption of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids was associated with protection against the development of liver cancer in patients with hepatitis B or hepatitis C infections. Dr. Corbin’s new study suggests established tumors would need to be exposed to higher concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids than could be achieved through diet, he added.
In the UT Southwestern study, conducted in rats, the newly formulated LDL-DHA nanoparticles were injected into the artery leading to the liver, the site of the cancer, he said.
“This research study clearly demonstrates the anticancer potential of omega-3 fatty acids,” he said, adding that while the study showed significant cancer cell toxicity, it is too soon to tell whether the approach is able to kill every cancer cell. Future experiments will examine that question, as well as whether the LDL-DHA strategy improves long-term cancer survival, he added.
“In trying to understand the biology of the LDL receptor, they conducted reconstitution experiments in which they removed the usual cholesterol content from LDL and added different types of cholesterol molecules. In our study, we used that method to formulate LDL combined with DHA as a possible cancer treatment,” Dr. Corbin explained.
“We knew that cancer cells like to take up LDL in order to acquire cholesterol and other lipids to help build their cell membranes as they proliferate. So what we have here is a classic example of a Trojan horse. The cancer cell thinks it’s getting cholesterol to provide the nutritional building blocks needed to grow and proliferate. Instead, it gets a payload of fish oil in the form of LDL-DHA nanoparticles that are selectively toxic to cancer cells without harming normal liver cells,” he said.
The researchers gave rats with liver cancer either LDL-DHA nanoparticles or control treatments of LDL without DHA, which were expected to have no effect. After 3 days, the tumors in controls had grown large and developed a good blood supply, which is essential to cancer growth. In contrast, the LDL-DHA rats had smaller, pale tumors with poor blood supply. In fact, more than 80% of their tumor cells were dying. http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/news-releases/year-2016/feb/liver-cancer-corbin.html
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