title: The antioxidants vitamins A and E and selenium do not reduce the incidence of asbestos-induced disease in a mouse model of mesothelioma.
abstract: Epidemiological evidence indicates that supplementation with some dietary factors is associated with a lower incidence of cancer. An effective cancer prevention strategy for the millions of people worldwide who have been exposed to asbestos could have enormous benefit. We tested whether dietary supplementation of the antioxidants vitamin A, E, and selenium could alter the pattern of disease in the MexTAg transgenic mouse model, in which mice uniformly develop mesothelioma after asbestos exposure. We focused on antioxidants because one of the most widely accepted hypotheses for the mechanism by which asbestos fibers cause cancer proposes the involvement of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. We compared the survival of MexTAg mice that had been inoculated with asbestos fed on diets supplemented with 250,000 IU/kg vitamin A (retinoic acid), or 1,000 mg/kg vitamin E (α-tocopherol acetate) or 3 mg/kg selenium, or both vitamin E and selenium concurrently and, additionally, diets deficient in each antioxidant. We found that neither the time to develop symptoms of disease nor overall survival times were altered by any of the diets. We conclude that the data do not support the notion that dietary antioxidants will moderate the rate of mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed populations.
authors.affiliation: Tumour Immunology Group, National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. cleo.robinson@uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Cleo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Anna K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lake
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D000952:Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming / Q000235:genetics; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001194:Asbestos / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D000090204:Mesothelin; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012643:Selenium / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D000952:Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming; D000975:Antioxidants; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; D014801:Vitamin A; D001194:Asbestos; D014810:Vitamin E; D012643:Selenium; D000090204:Mesothelin