Combination of three treatments can cut cancer risk among senior adults

Zurich, April 25:  A combination of high doses of vitamin D, omega 3 fatty acids, and a simple home strength training programme (SHEP) has been shown to reduce a cumulative reduction by 61 per cent in cancer risk for healthy adults aged 70 and older, says a study.

The findings of the research were published in journal 'Frontiers in Aging' by Dr Heike Bischoff-Ferrari and her colleagues at University Hospital Zurich. This was the first study to test the combined benefit of three affordable public health interventions for the prevention of invasive cancers. Following future studies, the results may impact the future of cancer prevention in older adults. Also read | Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion; users react with memes  Cancer is considered a major age-related disease in Europe and the US. It is the second leading cause of mortality in older adults and the chances of getting most cancers increases with age. Apart from preventative recommendations such as not smoking and sun protection, public health efforts that focus on cancer prevention are limited, according to Dr Heike Bischoff-Ferrari. Preventive efforts in middle-aged and older adults today are largely limited to screening and vaccination efforts. Mechanistic studies have shown that vitamin D inhibits the growth of cancer cells. Similarly, omega-3 may inhibit the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells, and exercise has been shown to improve immune function and decrease inflammation, which may help in the prevention of cancer. However, there was a lack of robust clinical studies proving the effectiveness of these three simple interventions, alone or combined. Bischoff-Ferrari and her colleagues wanted to fill these knowledge gaps by testing the effect of daily high-dose vitamin D3 (one form of vitamin D supplements), daily supplemental omega-3s, and a simple home exercise program, alone and in combination, on the risk of invasive cancer among adults aged 70 or older. To do so, the researchers conducted the DO-HEALTH trial: a three-year trial in five European countries (Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, and Portugal) with 2,157 participants. Also read |PM Modi congratulates 'friend' Emmanuel Macron on re-election as French President "In DO-HEALTH, our aim was to test promising combined interventions for cancer prevention taking advantage of potentially small additive benefits from several public health strategies," explained Bischoff-Ferrari. "In fact, novel cancer treatments aim to block multiple pathways for cancer development by combining several agents. We translated this concept into cancer prevention." The participants were randomized into eight different groups to test the individual and combined benefits of the interventions: group one received 2,000 IU per day of Vitamin D3 (equivalent to > 200 per cent of the number of current recommendations for older adults, which is 800 IU per day), 1g per day of omega-3s, and three times per week SHEP; group two vitamin D3 and omega-3s; group three vitamin D3 and SHEP; group four omega-3s and SHEP; group five vitamin D3 alone; group six omega-3s alone; group seven SHEP alone; and the last group received a placebo. Participants received check-up phone calls every three months and had standardized examinations of health and function in the trial centers at baseline, year 1, year 2, and year 3. The results show that all three treatments (vitamin D3, omega-3s, and SHEP) had cumulative benefits on the risk of invasive cancers. -PTC News