Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed and the second leading cause of cancer related death in Canadian women. There is a growing interest in the potential role of nutrition as an adjuvant to current therapies. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid that has shown efficacy in reducing cancer cell growth, but how it improves the efficacy of standard chemotherapy and the mechanisms involved have not been established. The overall objective of our research program has been to determine the efficacy and identify mechanisms for DHA in the treatment of breast cancer. We have addressed this objective through studies mimicking current therapy for neoadjuvant (before surgery) chemotherapy. To do this we have performed a series of studies in vitro (using human cancer cell lines) and in vivo (using rodent mammary tumours and patient-derived xerograph models) that were treated with or fed DHA in conjunction with the key cytotoxic agents used to treat breast cancer. In this presentation, Dr. Field will discuss the research journey her lab has taken from an observation in a human breast cancer cell line led to a clinical trial. In doing so, she will highlight the essential role that cell culture and pre-clinical animal models played.
Dr. Field is a Full Professor at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences where she holds a CRC Tier II in Human Nutrition and Metabolism. She is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Canadian Nutrition Society and received the McCalla and Killam Professorships from the University of Alberta, and the Earl Willard McHenry Award for Leadership in Nutrition from the Canadian Nutrition Society. She is an Associate Editor for Advances in Nutrition and Past President of the American Society for Nutrition. Her research program centers on the effect of nutrition on the immune system. Current areas of research are the use of specific fatty acids in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, the role of polyunsaturated fats in the development of the infant’s immune system, and identifying the association between nutritional status and maternal mental health and the neuro-physical development of infants. She has published more than 350 peer reviewed publication and given 130 invited talks around the world.