title: Dehydroepiandrosterone intake protects against 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary tumor development in the obese Zucker rat model.
abstract: Obesity has been epidemic in the US for over two decades; almost 65% of adults in the US are overweight. Obesity has been linked with the risk of development of various cancers, including breast cancer. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an over-the-counter dietary supplement used as an immunomodulating, anti-depressant, anti-aging, anti-cardiovascular disease, and anti-cancer agent and anti-obesity supplement. The objectives of this study were to investigate the long-term effects of obesity and DHEA treatment on body weight gain and on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumor development. Forty-three six-week-old obese female Zucker rats were used. Rats were randomly assigned and had ad libitum access to water and a diet of either chow (2016) as a control diet or chow with the addition of DHEA at a concentration of 6 g/kg of chow as a DHEA diet. All rats were orally gavaged at age 50 days with 65 mg DMBA/kg body weight. Rats were weighed and palpated twice weekly for detection of mammary tumors and sacrificed 155 days post-DMBA treatment. Obese rats fed the DHEA diet gained significantly less weight than obese control diet rats (P<0.001). At the end of the experiment, 55% of the control diet group developed mammary tumors, while no tumors were detected in the DHEA diet group (P<0.001). Our results suggest that DHEA treatment can reduce body weight gain and protects against DMBA-induced mammary tumor development in the obese Zucker rat model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. hakkakreza@uams.edu
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hakkak
authors.forename: Saied
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shaaf
authors.forename: Chan-Hee
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Stewart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: MacLeod
authors.forename: Soheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Korourian
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001551:Benz(a)Anthracenes; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002273:Carcinogens; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D005260:Female; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D011924:Rats, Zucker
chemical_list: D001551:Benz(a)Anthracenes; D002273:Carcinogens; C046810:7,12-dihydroxymethylbenz(a)anthracene; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone