hesitant to post this for you ice cream lovers!

[Lani]

J Cell Physiol. 2012 Jun 11. doi: 10.1002/jcp.24130. [Epub ahead of print]
Influence of fatty acid-free diet on mammary tumor development and growth rate in HER-2/neu transgenic mice.
Rossini A, Zanobbio L, Sfondrini L, Cavalleri A, Secreto G, Morelli D, Palazzo M, Sommariva M, Tagliabue E, Rumio C, Balsari A.

Dipartimento Scienze della Salute, Via Mangiagalli 31, 20133 Milan, Italy.


Abstract

Numerous investigations have found a relationship between higher risk of cancer and increased intake of fats, while results of clinical studies of fat reduction and breast cancer recurrence have been mixed. A diet completely free of fats cannot be easily administered to humans, but experimental studies in mice can be done to determine whether this extreme condition influences tumor development. Here, we examined the effects of a FA-free diet on mammary tumor development and growth rate in female FVB-neu proto-oncogene transgenic mice that develop spontaneous multifocal mammary tumors after a long latency period. Mice were fed a fatty acid-free diet beginning at 112, 35 and 30 days of age. In all these experiments, tumor appearance was delayed, tumor incidence was reduced and the mean number of palpable mammary tumors per mouse was lower, as compared to standard diet-fed mice. By contrast, tumor growth rate was unaffected in mice fed the fatty acid-free diet. Plasma of mice fed the fatty acid-free diet revealed significantly higher contents of oleic, palmitoleic and 20:3ω9 acids and lower contents of linoleic and palmitic acids. In conclusion, these findings indicate that a FA-free diet reduces tumor incidence and latency but not tumor growth rate, suggesting that a reduction in dietary FAs in humans may have a protective effect on tumorigenesis but not on tumors once they appear. J. Cell. Physiol. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PMID: 22689438

[yanyan]

Just curious if those tumors are ER/PR positive ? Fat does make more estrogen which imposes an increased risk on ER/PR+ breast cancer. I wonder what it does to ER/PR- breast cancer

[7andcounting]

Really people, if we don't have our ice cream, what do we have??

Just kidding.

[BonnieR]

Yeah, at at the beginning of summer, ice cream season!

[Laurel]

Interesting question, YanYan. I will wait to see what Lani has to say.

[Vicki revised]

With my tastebuds all screwed up now (and everything smelling like foul cotton candy) ice cream is one of the few things that still tastes good. I'm stage 4 with liver mets, the damage has already been done.

[dchips1]

This study is from Italy, SO we can all have Gelato!!!!

[Lauriesh]

Is this all fat? What about good fats that are supposed to be so beneficial for us?






Laurie

[Lani]

1) As I understand it, mice do not get ER+ breast tumors (only if human ER+ breast cancer cells are implanted in them) so this article wouldn't be able to show what you are asking ie, whether the tumors would be herw+ER+ or her2+ ER-. neu transgenic Mice only get ER- her2+ tumors.

2)you are confusing fats (good/bad) with fatty acids which are the building blocks of fats

Cancer cells grow faster than other cells and fatty acids are necessary to build cell membranes. So a shortage of the ingredients slows things down. Once the cancer was present however, it did not stop the cancer from growing (cancer figures out all sorts of ways around things like "eating itself or nearby cells "
to provide the fatty acids and other building blocks to grow

hope this helped

[karen z]

Thanks for the post.
karen

[Laurel]

Thanks, Lani, helpful as always. Now can you review Hopeful's post about PR+ and anti-PR hormonal therapy? I am curious to know if you have been hearing much about said therapy and when we should approach our Oncologists about it. I am PR + @ 90%. Might be a good option for moi. Thanks!