Abstract A39: Dietary supplementation with curcumin enhances metastatic growth of Lewis lung carcinoma in mice

Abstract

Abstract The present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with curcumin (the principal curcuminoid of the popular Indian spice turmeric) on spontaneous metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) in female C57/BL6 mice. Mice were fed the AIN93G control diet or that diet supplemented with 2% or 4% curcumin for 5 weeks at which time they were injected subcutaneously with 2.5 x 105 viable LLC cells. The subcutaneous primary tumor was surgically removed when it reached approximately 8 mm in diameter, and the experiment was terminated 10 days after the surgery. There was no difference in pulmonary metastatic yield among the groups. Curcumin supplementation at either dietary level did not significantly affect tumor growth. However, the combine data from both curcumin groups showed that curcumin treatment increased tumor cross-sectional area by 46% (p < 0.05) and tumor volume by 70% (p < 0.05) compared with the controls. Curcumin supplementation increased plasma concentrations of the angiogenic factors fibroblast growth factor-basic (p < 0.05) and vascular endothelial growth factor (p < 0.05), as well as the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (p < 0.05) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (p < 0.05) compared with the controls. These results demonstrate that curcumin does not prevent metastasis, and indicate that it can enhance metastatic growth of LLC in mice, perhaps through up-regulation of angiogenesis and inflammation. Citation Format: Lin Yan. Dietary supplementation with curcumin enhances metastatic growth of Lewis lung carcinoma in mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A39.