title: Orally active alpha-tocopheryloxyacetic acid suppresses tumor growth and multiplicity of spontaneous murine breast cancer.
abstract: We recently demonstrated the antitumor efficacy of orally administered alpha-tocopheryloxyacetic acid (alpha-TEA), a redox silent and nonhydrolyzable derivative of naturally occurring vitamin E. In order to move alpha-TEA closer to the clinic to benefit patients with breast cancer, the present study had two goals. First, to determine the minimal effective treatment dose; and second, to test the efficacy of dietary administration of alpha-TEA in the clinically relevant MMTV-PyMT mouse model of spontaneous breast cancer that more closely resembles human disease. The minimal effective dose of alpha-TEA was evaluated in the transplantable 4T1 tumor model and we show a dose-dependent decrease of primary tumor growth and reduction of metastatic spread to the lung. Six-week-old MMTV-PyMT mice were treated with oral alpha-TEA for 9 weeks, with no apparent signs of drug toxicity. The alpha-TEA treatment delayed tumor development and significantly slowed tumor progression, resulting in a 6-fold reduction of the average cumulative tumor size. In addition, oral alpha-TEA caused an 80% reduction in spontaneous metastases. In situ analysis of tumor tissue identified apoptosis as an important mechanism of alpha-TEA-mediated tumor suppression in addition to inhibition of tumor cell proliferation. This study shows, for the first time, the ability of orally administered alpha-TEA to delay tumor onset and to inhibit the progression and metastatic spread of a clinically relevant model of spontaneous breast cancer. Our finding of the high efficacy in this tumor model highlights the translational potential of oral alpha-TEA therapy.
authors.affiliation: Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Portland Medical Center, 4805 North East Glisan Street, Portland, OR 97213, USA.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fried
authors.forename: Laurence H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Hurley
authors.forename: Emmanuel T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Akporiaye
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000556:secondary; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D024505:Tocopherols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047368:Tumor Burden / Q000187:drug effects*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; C488288:2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2R-(4R,8R,12-trimethyltridecyl)chroman-6-yloxy acetic acid; D024505:Tocopherols