An Immunonutritional Approach to the Prevention of Skin Cancer

August 21, 2013 updated by: Lesley Rhodes, University of Manchester

The Effect of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on UV-induced Immunosuppression

Skin cancer incidence continues to rise and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in sunlight is the principal cause. Solar UVR can promote cancer development through its ability to suppress the immune system. The purpose of this study is to determine whether dietary supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can protect human skin from UVR-induced immunosuppression.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Skin cancer is one of the most common human cancers with a rising incidence and considerable negative impact on human health. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in sunlight is the major aetiological factor in skin cancer initiation and progression. Human case-control studies have reported an inverse relationship between dietary fish or omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake and occurrence of non-melanoma skin cancer. Omega-3 PUFA have the potential to reduce the risk of photocarcinogenesis primarily by their ability to reduce production of prostaglandin E2 and consequently photoimmunosuppression. To date, no studies have assessed the impact of omega-3 PUFA on skin photoimmunosuppression in humans.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the potential of dietary omega-3 PUFA to protect against UVR-induced cutaneous immunosuppression in humans.

STUDY DESIGN: A double-blind randomised controlled nutritional study in 64 healthy human volunteers with nickel sensitivity. Volunteers will receive 3 months dietary supplementation with either omega-3 PUFA (n=32) or gelatine (n=32) both provided in identical gelatine capsules.

The aim is to quantify the influence of omega-3 PUFA on:

  1. UVR-induced suppression of clinical contact hypersensitivity (CHS) responses
  2. UVR-induced modulation of epidermal Langerhans cell trafficking
  3. UVR-induced modulation of levels of immunoregulatory mediators

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

90

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
      • Manchester, United Kingdom, M6 8HD
        • Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Pre-menopausal females
  • Sun-reactive skin type I / II
  • Reporting allergy to jewellery with nickel content

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of atopy
  • History of skin cancer
  • History of a photosensitivity disorder
  • Sunbathing (including sunbeds) in the last 3 months
  • Pregnancy
  • History of cardiac disease
  • Taking photoactive medicine
  • Not able to eat fish or gelatine
  • Taking fish oil supplements prior to the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Omega-3 PUFA capsule
Dietary supplement: Omega-3 PUFA
One capsule (4g omega-3 PUFA) daily for 3 months
Placebo Comparator: Gelatine capsule
Dietary supplement: Gelatine
One capsule daily for 3 months

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Degree of suppression of nickel-induced contact hypersensitivity
Time Frame: 3 months
Measurement of the erythema of nickel-induced eczema using a reflectance instrument
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Intergroup comparison of cytokine and eicosanoid levels and Langerhans cell numbers
Time Frame: 3 months
3 months
Correlation of susceptibility to photoimmunosuppression in all subjects with their erythrocyte omega-3:omega-6 PUFA ratio
Time Frame: 3 months
3 months
Correlation of susceptibility to photoimmunosuppression with cytokine and eicosanoid levels and Langerhans cell numbers
Time Frame: 3 months
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Manchester

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2010

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 14, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 14, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

December 15, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 22, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 21, 2013

Last Verified

August 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • AICR 08-0131
  • UKCRN 6873 (Registry Identifier: UK Clinical Research Network)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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