Prevention of colon carcinogenesis and carcinoma metastasis by orally administered bovine lactoferrin in animals

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Hiroyuki Tsuda, | Kazunori Sekine, | Nobuo Takasuka, | Hiroyasu Toriyama-Baba, | Masaaki Iigo,

Affiliations: Experimental Pathology and Chemotherapy Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tsukiji 5-1-1, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan

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Abstract: Bovine lactoferrin (bLF), a milk protein known to have bacteriostatic properties was examined for its preventive effects on colon and other organ carcinogenesis and experimental metastasis. (Experiment 1) The influence on colon carcinogenesis was investigated in male rats treated with azoxymethane (AOM), then received 2 or 0.2% weeks. Significant reduction in the incidence (27% control, respectively) and number of adenocarcinomas of the large intestine was observed. (Experiment 2) In BALB/c mice bearing subcutaneous (s.c.) implants of colon carcinoma 26 (Co 26Lu), bLF demonstrated significant inhibition of spontaneous lung metastasis (approximately 43% and CD8^+ cells in white blood cells increased (171% control, respectively) after treatment. Results of those experiments indicate that bLF remarkably prevents colon carcinogenesis and lung metastasis of colon carcinoma cells, possibly due to increasing cytotoxic cells in the peripheral blood.

Keywords: lactoferrin, carcinogenesis, prevention, metastasis, rat, mouse

Journal: BioFactors, vol. 12, no. 1-4, pp. 83-88, 2000