H. Inano et al., ANTICARCINOGENIC ACTIVITY OF SIMVASTATIN DURING THE PROMOTION PHASE OF RADIATION-INDUCED MAMMARY TUMORIGENESIS OF RATS, Carcinogenesis, 18(9), 1997, pp. 1723-1727
Pregnant Wistar-MS rats received whole body irradiation with 2.6 Gy ga
mma-rays from a Co-60 source at day 20 of pregnancy. Control rats were
fed a basal diet and were implanted with a diethylstilbestrol (DES) p
ellet at 30 days after weaning. In the experimental group, rats were f
ed a diet containing simvastatin immediately after weaning and receive
d a DES pellet at 30 days after weaning. A high incidence of total mam
mary tumours was observed in the rats fed the control diet and treated
with DES for 1 year. The administration of dietary simvastatin togeth
er with DES treatment significantly decreased the incidence of mammary
tumours. The development of adenocarcinoma in the control rats was si
gnificantly higher than that in the rats fed the simvastatin diet, Aft
er the administration of simvastatin to the experimental group for 1 y
ear, the serum estradiol-17 beta concentration in these rats was marke
dly reduced, but that of prolactin was not. No significant difference
was seen in the development of the mammary glands between rats fed the
control diet and those fed the simvastatin diet by whole mount observ
ations. Simvastatin feeding produced an increased development of ER(-)
PgR(-) tumours and a reduced incidence of ER+ PgR(+) tumours. These fi
ndings suggest that simvastatin has a potent preventive activity durin
g the DES-dependent promotion/progression phase of radiation-induced m
ammary tumorigenesis.