Omega-3 fatty acids reprogram tumor-associated macrophage cytokine signaling and suppress pancreatic cancer growth.

Omega-3-enriched diet suppresses pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma growth by reprogramming tumor-associated macrophages and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines.

• Why it matters: Understanding how dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids influence tumor progression can reveal new therapeutic strategies for pancreatic cancer, which currently has limited treatment options.
• What they did: Using orthotopic PDAC models, the study examined the effects of omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs on tumor growth, cytokine signaling, and macrophage populations, including genetic manipulation to convert n-6 to n-3 fatty acids within myeloid cells.
• The result: The n-3 PUFA-enriched diet reduced tumor growth, decreased Arg1+ immunosuppressive TAMs, increased antigen-presenting TAMs, and lowered IL-6 cytokine production, highlighting macrophages as key mediators of dietary lipid-driven tumor suppression.