M.W. Roomi, N.W. Roomi, V. Ivanov, M.Rath and A. Niedzwiecki
Dr. Rath Research Institute, Oncology Division, Santa Clara, CA 95050

Presented at: 
The 99th Annual Meeting of the AACR, San Diego, California, April 12-16, 2008

Published in: 
Proceedings of the 99th Annual Meeting of the AACR, Abstract #5573, p 1324

Abstract

Introduction: 
Lung cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the USA. The incidence is decreasing slightly in men, but rising sharply in women. Perhaps the greatest risk factor for developing lung cancer is exposure to inhalation carcinogen, most commonly those found in tobacco smoke. Other risk factors include asbestos and radon exposure. Despite improvements in therapy, the cure rate for lung cancer remains low. In general, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy treatments are used in the management of lung cancer. But these treatments have adverse and toxic effects.

Objective: 
We have developed strategies to inhibit cancer development and its spread using naturally occurring nutrients such as lysine, proline, ascorbic acid and green tea extract (NM). Such a unique formulation was shown to exhibit synergistic anticancer activity in vivo and in vitro in a number of cancer cell lines, inhibiting cancer cell growth, MMP secretion, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. The present study examines the in vivo effect of NM in the development of urethane-induced lung tumors in male A/J mice.

Methods: 
A/J male mice, six weeks old, were given a single intraperitoneal injection with urethane (1 mg/g body weight) in saline. After two weeks the mice were divided into two groups. Group 1 was fed a regular diet, while Group 2 was fed the same diet supplemented with 0.5% NM. After 20 weeks, mice were sacrificed, the lungs were excised and weighed, and tumors were counted and processed for histology.

Results: 
There was no significant difference in the body weight of the control and test groups. Mice in both the groups developed tumors; however, the numbers of tumors in the NM (Group 2) mice were significantly reduced by 50% of the control (Group 1). Moreover lung weights of animals from the test group were less than in the control group. Pulmonary lesions were morphologically similar for both the groups (adenomas) but lesions were smaller in the test group.

Conclusions: 
These results suggest that NM has inhibitory potential on the development of mouse lung tumors induced by urethane.

Comments

Incidence of lung cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the USA, is decreasing slightly in men, but rising sharply in women. Despite improvements in therapy, the cure rate for lung cancer remains low. A mixture of nutrients including lysine, proline, ascorbic acid and green tea extract (NM) has been shown to exhibit synergistic anticancer activity in vivo and in vitro in a number of cancer cell lines, inhibiting cancer cell growth, MMP secretion, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. In this study we examined the effect of dietary supplementation of mice with 0.5% NM on the development of lung tumors induced by injection of urethane. Supplemented mice developed 50% fewer tumors with smaller lesions than mice fed