Toxicological Sciences, Vol 52, 66-71, Copyright © 1999 by Society of Toxicology
A Rogers, L Sullivan and L Hafer
Understanding diet and energy balance as risk factors for breast, colon,
and other cancers requires information on the contribution of each factor
and of interactions among factors to cancer risk. Rodent models for breast
cancer provide extensive data on effects of dietary fat and calories,
energy balance, body weight gain, and physical activity on tumor
development. Analyses of the combined data from many studies have shown
clearly that quality and quantity of dietary fat and energy balance
contribute independently to increased mammary gland tumorigenesis. These
findings were seen in female rats fed diets high in fat (35-40% of
calories) compared to rats fed control diets, with approximately 10% of
calories as fat (Fay and Freedman, 1997, <it>Breast Cancer Res.
Treat. 46, 215-223). The methods used permit comparison of
experimental and epidemiological data, and they may be useful in
extrapolating between species and developing public health recommendations.
In addition to the contributions of lifetime-diet composition, intake,
energy balance, and physical activity to cancer risk, there are questions
about the timing and duration of alterations in these factors and about the
'dose-response' characteristics of cancer risk to the factors. Endocrine
mechanisms may be significant in mammary gland tumor risk, but experimental
and epidemiological data indicate that cancers at other sites, such as
colon and liver, also are influenced by the factors listed. Other diet and
lifestyle factors that influence energy, or specifically fat, metabolism
may also affect risk for cancers that are promoted by increased intake of
fat and calories. Studies of separate and interactive effects of dietary
fat, black tea, weight gain, and mammary gland tumorigenesis (Rogers,
<it>et al, 1998, <it>Carcinogenesis</it> 19,
1269-1273) have been analyzed. Using adjustment of carcinogenesis endpoints
for body weight, tumor burden, and latency, they were found to be related
to weight gain within treatment groups in 2 or 3
experiments.Keywords: mammary tumors; calories;
dietary fat; weight gain; rats; exercise; black tea
ARTICLES
Dietary fat, body weight, and cancer: contributions of studies in rodents to understanding these cancer risk factors in humans
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine and Mallory Institute of Pathology, and Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health and Section of Internal Medicine, Research Unit, Department of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA 02118, USA; Corresponding author address: Boston University Medical School, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 715 Albany Street, L804, Boston, MA 02118, USA; Fax: (617) 638 4085; E-mail: aerogers@bu.edu
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