Polyunsaturated fatty acids and epidermal growth factor receptor/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling in mammary cancer.

Mammary cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, the second most common neoplasm in dogs and the third leading neoplasm in cats. Mammary tumors are similar in morphology and progression in these species, so cats and dogs are good models for determining treatment or prevention modalities for the human population. Epidemiological, in vitro and rodent studies have demonstrated that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) can influence the growth, progression and metastasis of mammary cancer. Although a role of PUFA in modulating mammary cancer growth has been shown, the mechanisms by which this occurs remain unclear. Recent studies have demonstrated that PUFA may influence the activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, which is involved in regulating several oncogenes (c-myc, c-fos, neu/c-erb-b2) involved in the progression of cancer. We review the potential mechanism by which PUFA may modulate the growth of mammary cancer through regulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor/mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction cascade.