Abstract
We determined the effect of fish oil (FO) ingestion on colonic carcinogenesis in rats. Male Wistar rats received 4 subcutaneous injections (40 mg/kg body weight each) of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) at 3-day intervals and were fed a diet containing 18% by weight FO (N = 10) or soybean oil (SO, N = 10) for 36 weeks. At sacrifice, the colon was removed, aberrant crypt foci were counted and the fatty acid profile was determined. Intestinal tumors were removed and classified as adenoma or carcinoma. Liver and feces were collected and analyzed for fatty acid profile. FO reduced the mean (± SEM) number of aberrant crypt foci compared to SO (113.55 ± 6.97 vs 214.60 ± 18.61; P 0.05). In conclusion, our findings indicate that chronic FO ingestion protected against the DMH-induced preneoplastic colon lesions and adenoma development, but not against carcinoma in rats.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death and the third most common type of cancer in both men and women in Western countries [1] and it is an increasing cause of death in Brazil [2]
In this study of the effect of fish oil on colon carcinogenesis, we showed that rats consuming a diet enriched in fish oil (18%) for 36 weeks exhibited a significant reduction in DMH-induced Aberrant crypt foci (ACF)
Since ACF is a putative preneoplastic colon lesion that may be an early indicator of colon carcinogenesis [3], these findings suggest that the ingestion of fish oil protected against the initiation of ACF development in the rat colon
Summary
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death and the third most common type of cancer in both men and women in Western countries [1] and it is an increasing cause of death in Brazil [2]. Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) are considered to be putative preneoplastic colon lesions that may be early indicators of colon carcinogenesis [3,4]. ACF and tumors can be chemically induced by administering chemical carcinogens to experimental animals, among them, 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) or azoxymethane [5,6]. DMH is one of the agents most frequently used in experimental models of colon carcinogenesis in rodents [6,7]. The occurrence of colorectal cancer is strongly correlated with nutritional factors [8,9] and dietary recommendations have been established to encourage people to change their habits in order to reduce the risk of colon cancer, the burden of personal suffering and the costs of treatment [10]. The exact nature and extent of the relationship of colorectal cancer with specific nutrients is not understood [11]
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