Linoleic acid and cancer

Linoleic acid (LA) is a polyunsaturated ω-6 fatty acid. It is found in the lipids of cell membranes and is abundant in many vegetable oils such as poppy seed, safflower, sunflower, and corn oils. Its deficiency together with other ω-6 fatty acids in the diet may cause dry hair, hair loss, and poor wound healing and the intake of such acid can be detected by dietary assessments and biological measurements. Several studies showed contradicting results regarding the effects of LA in cancer. LA appears to be pivotal in the spontaneous metastasis of experimental tumors. One study showed an increase in cancer incidence after consumption of diets with very high LA for several years. Another study showed that LA is associated with the proliferation of human breast cancer cells in culture. In contrast to these findings, another study indicated that high intake of LA has no significant risk of cancer as compared to its low intake. This chapter describes the methods of detection of dietary LA, and explores the reasons for discrepancies in studies linking LA with cancers. We will also investigate the association between LA and the different types of cancer, as well as the role of LA as ω-6 in relation to ω-3 and cancer risks. © 2012 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.