High-fat, high-sucrose, and high-cholesterol diets accelerate tumor growth and metastasis in tumor-bearing mice.

Epidemiological studies indicate that the risk factors for the development of various cancers are closely associated with metabolic symptoms such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance caused by the excess consumption of high-calorie diets. However, the mechanisms of tumor growth and metastasis caused by feeding a high-calorie diet have not been clarified yet in tumor-bearing mice. In this study, we examined the effects of a high-fat (HF), a high-sucrose (HS), a high-cholesterol (HC) or a low-fat/low-sucrose (LF/LS) diet on tumor growth and metastasis in tumor-bearing mice. Angiogenic factors such as plasma leptin and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were increased after the implantation of tumors, whereas conversely, an antiangiogenic factor, adiponectin, was reduced after the implantation of tumors in mice fed the HF, the HS, or the HC diet compared to LF/LS diet. Furthermore, we found that vascular endothelial growth factor, hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha and MCP-1 expression levels in tumors of mice fed the HF, the HS, or the HC diet were increased compared to those of mice fed the LF/LS diet. These findings suggest that the acceleration of tumor growth and metastasis by feeding the 3 diets may be due to the increase of angiogenic factors and the reduction of antiangiogenic factors.