Increased dietary levels of α-linoleic acid inhibit mammary tumor growth and metastasis

• DOI: 10.1007/s00394-015-1096-6
• Publication Date: 2015-11-18T08:28:12Z
• Authors: Marianela Vara-Me...; Maria E. Pasqualini; Andrea Comba; Renata Silva; Carola Buccellati; Annalisa Trenti; Lucia Trevisi; Aldo R. Eynard; Angelo Sala; Chiara Bolego; Mirta A. Valentich
• Keywords: Mammary tumor; Corn oil

The aim of this study was to determine whether α-linolenic acid (ALA ω-3 fatty acid) enriched diet affects growth parameters when applied to a syngeneic model of mammary carcinoma.BALB/c mice were divided and fed with: 1) a chia oil diet, rich in ALA or 2) a corn oil diet, rich in linoleic acid (LA ω-6 fatty acid). Mice were subcutaneously inoculated with a tumor cell line LM3, derived from a murine mammary adenocarcinoma.After 35 days, tumor incidence, weight, volume and metastasis number were lower in the ALA-fed mice, while tumor latency time was higher, and the release of pro-tumor metabolites derived from ω-6 fatty acids decreased in the tumor. Compared to the control group, a lower number of mitosis, a higher number of apoptotic bodies and higher T-lymphocyte infiltration were consistently observed in the ALA group. An ALA-rich diet decreased the estrogen receptor (ER) α expression, a recognized breast cancer promotor while showing an opposite effect on ERβ in tumor lysates.These data support the anticancer effect of an ALA-enriched diet, which might be used as a dietary strategy in breast cancer prevention.