Combination of Intermittent Calorie Restriction and Eicosapentaenoic Acid for Inhibition of Mammary Tumors

There are a number of dietary interventions capable of inhibiting mammary tumorigenesis however the effectiveness of dietary combinations is largely unexplored. Here we combined two interventions previously shown individually to inhibit mammary tumor development. The first was the use of the omega-3 fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and the second was the implementation of calorie restriction. MMTV-Her2/neu mice were used as a model for human breast cancers which over express Her2/neu. Six groups of mice were enrolled. Half were fed a control (Con) diet with 10.1% fat calories from soy oil, while the other half consumed a diet with 72% fat calories from EPA. Within each diet mice were further divided into ad libitum (AL), chronic calorie restricted (CCR) or intermittent calorie restricted (ICR) groups. Mammary tumor incidence was lowest in ICR-EPA (15%) and highest in AL-Con mice (87%) while AL-EPA, CCR-Con, CCR-EPA and ICR-Con groups had mammary tumor incidence rates of 63%, 47%, 40% and 59% respectively. Survival was effected similarly by the interventions. Consumption of EPA dramatically reduced serum leptin (P<0.02) and increased serum adiponectin in the AL-EPA mice compared to AL-Con mice (P<0.001). Both CCR and ICR decreased serum leptin and IGF-I compared to AL mice but not compared to each other. These results illustrate that mammary tumor inhibition is significantly increased when ICR and EPA are combined as compared to either intervention alone. This response may be related to alterations in the balance of serum growth factors and adipokines.