A NEW study has found when palmitic acid, or palm oil, was added to the diets of mice, mouth and skin cancers were more likely to spread.
The latest findings indicates the controversial oil could be playing a part in cancer diagnoses, by encouraging the spread of the disease.
What is palm oil?
Palm oil is an edible oil derived from the fleshy fruit of oil palms.
Grown only in the tropics, the oil palm tree produces high-quality oil used primarily for cooking in developing countries.
It is also used in food products like chocolate and pastries, detergents, cosmetics and, to a small extent, biofuel.
However, the use of palm oil has attracted criticism from environmental campaigners due to deforestation in the tropics where palms are grown.
There’s also social concerns due to allegations of human rights violations among growers.
Why is it bad for the environment?
Palm oil is cheaper to produce than other vegetable oils, making it a very productive crop with high demand to produce.
Plantations are spreading across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
But as communities make space for oil-palm monoculture, entire forests are cleared.
This produces significant impacts on the local ecosystems leading to deforestation, critical habitats for many endangered species and a lifeline for some human communities.
For example, the Sumatran orangutan, has been listed as critically endangered because of habitat loss due to palm oil cultivation.
Regions with fast growing palm oil production have also experienced significant violations of indigenous land rights, influxes of illegal immigrant labour and labour practices, and other alleged related human rights violations.
How are fatty acids found in palm oil linked to cancer?
Scientists have shown how a fatty acid found in palm oil can encourage the spread of cancer.
The study, on mice, found that palmitic acid promoted the spread of cancer – metastasis – in mouth and skin cancers.
Experts have started developing therapies that interrupt this process and suggest a clinical trial could begin in the next couple of years.
Metastasis is the main cause of death in patients with the disease and the vast majority of people with metastatic cancer can only be treated, but not cured, researchers say.
Fatty acids are the building blocks of fat in our body and the food we eat but they are also known to promote metastasis.
However, it is unclear whether all fatty acids contribute to the spread of the disease.
By understanding the nature of this study, the researchers uncovered a way to block it and are now in the process of planning a clinical trial to stop metastasis in different types of cancer.
