Does a linolenic acid in combination with linoleic acid influence liver metastasis and hepatic lipid peroxidation in BOP-induced pancreatic cancer inSyrian hamsters?

Some fatty acids are reported to inhibit tumor growth of pancreatic carcino ma. However, it is still unknown if alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) inhibit liver metastasis of ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Th erefore we studied the effect of these fatty acids on fiver metastasis in t he animal model of N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP)-induced pancreatic adenocarcinoma in Syrian hamsters. Since lipid peroxidation seems to be inv olved in carcinogenesis and metastasis, we further analyzed the intrahepati c concentration of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and acti vity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). We observed an increase in the incidence and the number of liver metastase in response to the combination of ALA and LA. This was accompanied by a dec rease in hepatic GSH-Px activity and an increase in hepatic SOD activity an d TEARS concentration. The increase in hepatic lipid peroxidation seems to be one possible mechanism of increasing liver metastasis in this study. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.