DHA FEEDING PROVIDES HOST PROTECTION AND PREVENTS FIBROSARCOMA-INDUCED HYPERLIPIDEMIA WHILE MAINTAINING THE TUMOR RESPONSE TO ARAC IN FISCHER-344 RATS

Fischer 344 rats were inoculated with fibrosarcoma tumor cells and fed diets containing 5% or 10% (wt/wt) safflower oil or 10% oil containin g docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Animals were then treated with arabinosy lcytosine (araC) or saline for six days. Tumor weights were highest in animals fed 10% safflower oil and treated with saline, intermediate i n animals fed oil containing DHA and 5% safflower oil and treated with saline, and lowest in araC-treated animals from all diets. Plasma cho lesterol and triglyceride levels correlated highly with final tumor si ze, regardless of diet or treatment group. Animals fed safflower oil h ad lower intestinal weights than those fed DHA, which histology demons trated to be a result of differences in villus height and crypt depth. Substantial loss of bone marrow cells occurred in all dietary groups treated with araC; however, the proportion of granulocyte-macrophage p recursors remaining in the DHA animals was higher than in saline-treat ed animals and twofold higher than in the animals fed 10% safflower oi l and treated with araC. These data suggest that, even in the face of rapid tumor growth and chemotherapeutic challenge, consumption of a di et rich in DHA can slow tumor growth, prevent hyperlipidemia, enhance bone marrow cellularity, and promote intestinal growth compared with a moderate-fat n-6-rich diet.