Antitumor activity of phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphate) in murine transplanted and metastatic fibrosarcoma, a pilot study.

We have previously reported that phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphate or InsP6), a natural constituent of cereal diet, when administered in drinking water exerts a consistent antitumor effect on experimental colon cancer in vivo. The objective of this study was to determine whether InsP6 has similar anti-neoplastic effect on other tumor models, such as murine fibrosarcoma. We report that intraperitoneal injection of InsP6 reduces growth of subcutaneously transplanted fibrosarcoma (FSA-1) in mice, prolongs survival of tumor-bearing mice and reduces the number of pulmonary metastases. Since InsP6 is a common constituent of our diet and has very little or no toxic effects, in addition to being chemopreventive, it could have potential use in therapy of cancer as well.