If you eat fatty fish, such as salmon or sardines, more than once a week, your chances of developing kidney cancer are 44% less than a person who does not eat fatty fish, according to researchers at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

You can read about this study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, September 20th issue.

The 15-year study of 61,433 women compared lean fish to fatty fish consumption, and the link to renal (kidney) cancer. The women answered a questionnaire about their eating habits in 1987 and then again in 1997. They were followed up in 2004.

The following were classed as fatty fish:

— Salmon
— Herring
— Mackerel
— Lake trout
— Sardines
— Albacore tuna
— Seafood (shrimps/prawns, lobster, crayfish)

The following are classed as lean fish:

Cod
Haddock
Hake
Pollock
Plaice
Lemon sole
Brill
Turbot
Black sole
Ray
Dogfish
Shark

150 women developed kidney cancer during that 15-year period (1987-2005). Women who had consumed fatty fish at least once a week were significantly less likely to develop kidney cancer than those who never ate fatty fish, said the researchers. Those who consumed lean fish at least once a week were no better off.

The researchers wrote “In this large population-based cohort with data on long-term diet, we found that women who consumed one or more servings of fatty fish per week had a statistically significant 44% decreased risk of RCC (renal cell carcinoma) compared with women who did not consume any fish. Women who reported consistent long-term consumption of fatty fish at baseline and 10 years later had a statistically significant 74 percent lower risk.”

The researchers concluded that frequent consumption of fatty fish may lower renal cell cancer risk as a result of a higher intake of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaeneoic acid as well as vitamin D (all found in abundance in fish oils).

Fatty fish have much higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D than lean fish, said the scientists.

It is estimated that there will be about 208,500 cases of kidney cancer worldwide this year, and 101,900 kidney cancer deaths. In the USA there are estimated to be 39,000 new cases this year, and 10,700 deaths (International Agency for Research on Cancer and the American Cancer Society).

Long-term Fatty Fish Consumption and Renal Cell Carcinoma Incidence in Women
Alicja Wolk, DMSc; Susanna C. Larsson, MSc; Jan-Erik Johansson, MD, PhD; Peter Ekman, MD, PhD
JAMA. 2006;296:1371-1376.
Click Here To View Abstract Online

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News today