L. Maehle et al., EFFECTS OF N-3 FATTY-ACIDS DURING NEOPLASTIC PROGRESSION AND COMPARISON OF IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO SENSITIVITY OF 2 HUMAN TUMOR-CELL LINES, British Journal of Cancer, 71(4), 1995, pp. 691-696
Several studies have shown that dietary lipid exerts an effect on carc
inogenesis. We report here that progression to malignancy in vitro is
associated with changes in the response to fatty acids (FAs). Tumorige
nic (THKE) cells were more sensitive to the n-3 FAs eicosapentaenoic a
cid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) than immortalised (IHKE) cell
s. The growth of THKE cells was inhibited 25% more than the growth of
IHKE cells at 80 mu M EPA (P<0.01) and 35% more at 40 mu M DHA (P<0.00
1). Furthermore, the results indicate that there is a wide cell type v
ariation in the response to FAs. We found that the in vitro inhibition
by FAs correlated with the reduction in the growth rate of the tumour
in nude mice fed K85 (55% EPA and 30% DHA). A significant difference
in tumour latency was observed for the A427 cell tumour groups (10 day
s, P<0.05). Tumours in the animals fed n-3 FA exhibited significantly
higher levels of EPA and DHA; the level of arachidonic acid (ARA) was
significantly lower in THKB tumours and the level of linoleic acid (LA
) was significantly lower in A427 tumours than in controls fed corn oi
l. The higher sensitivity of the A427 cell line was not explained by h
igher uptake of EPA/DHA.