title: Mammary gland tumor promotion in F1 generation offspring from male and female rats exposed to soy isoflavones for a lifetime.
abstract: The effect of dietary isoflavones in the form of NOVASOY (NS) was investigated on methylnitrosourea-initiated mammary gland cancer in F1 generation female Sprague Dawley rats from parents who had undergone lifetime exposure to variable levels of dietary NS. In comparison to NS-free dietary groups, lifetime exposure of F1 rats to 40 and 1000 mg/kg diets of NS reduced tumor latency, but did not significantly affect tumor incidence, tumor size, or tumor multiplicity. A significantly lower tumor multiplicity was, however, observed in rats fed the soy-based, NS-free diet compared to the casein-based, NS-free diet. An evaluation of a dose-response relationship pointed towards a biphasic effect, with a trend showing lower tumor incidence, lower tumor multiplicity, and lower tumor size in rats fed 1000 mg/kg diet NS compared to 40 mg/kg diet NS; however, the data failed to achieve statistical significance. Histologically, tumor type significantly differed according to the administered basal diet variety and NS dose. Our data and that of others provide conflicting evidence for chemopreventive effects of soy isoflavones on mammary gland tumor induction. We suggest standardization of interlaboratory experimental approaches for establishing low dose-response relationships for soy and its isoflavones to aid in risk assessment.
authors.affiliation: Health Canada, Health Products and Food Branch, Toxicology Research Division, Food Directorate, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0L2, Canada. rekha_mehta@hc-sc.gc.ca
authors.forename: Rekha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lok
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Kamla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kapal
authors.forename: Marnie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Gerard M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Cooke
authors.forename: Ivan H A
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Curran
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002364:Caseins / Q000737:chemistry; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D015674:Mammary Neoplasms, Animal / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000209:etiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013025:Glycine max / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002364:Caseins; D007529:Isoflavones