Varying effect of dietary lipids and azoxymethane on early stages of colon carcinogenesis: enumeration of aberrant crypt foci and proliferative indices.

Animal models have been used extensively to study the role of diet in the etiology and prevention of colon cancer. It is recognized that several experimental variables affect disease modulation and outcome. Our objective was to determine whether an interaction between the dose of carcinogen used and dietary factors exist, using aberrant crypt foci (ACF) as a biological end point. Sprague-Dawley male rats were injected with a low or a high dose of azoxymethane (AOM, 5 mg or 20 mg per kg s.c.) or saline (0.2 ml/animal s.c.), and randomly allocated to four diet groups (N = 8/group) 1 week later. Diets varied with respect to type of fat (corn or olive oil) and levels of fat: normal (5 g/100 g) corn or olive oil (CO or OO), or high (23.5 g/100g) corn or olive oil (HCO or HOO). After 8 weeks of dietary treatment animals were injected with colchicine (1 mg/kg). Two and a half hours later they were killed and their colons assessed for number of ACF, number of crypt/focus (crypt multiplicity), and the size of ACF as well as the number of cells in metaphase and their location in the crypt section. The low dose of AOM induced fewer ACF and ACF with higher crypt multiplicity than did the high dose of AOM. Dietary fats exerted a variable effect on ACF, depending on the dose of AOM. In low-dose AOM groups, both CO diets exerted a growth-enhancing effect on ACF compared with OO diets.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)