Changes in steroid hormone profile and tumour progression after genistein treatment of canine inflammatory mammary cancer xenotransplanted mice.

Isoflavones, such as genistein, have been proposed to have beneficial effects on health, including preventive or therapeutic actions in carcinogenesis. Their structural similarity to oestrogens allows them to bind at the cellular level with oestrogen receptors. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the antitumoural effects of genistein administered in a canine inflammatory mammary cancer xenograft model, in terms of tumour proliferation, appearance of metastases and steroid hormone regulation. Using histology and immunohistochemical analyses as well as the EIA technique for hormonal determinations, the antitumoural effects of genistein on an inflammatory mammary cancer xenograft model were assessed for 3 weeks. Mice treated with genistein showed higher Ki-67 levels than the control group. There were significantly more distant metastases in the genistein-treated xenografts versus the control group. Intratumoural and serum progesterone, androstenedione and oestrogen levels in treated mice were elevated, whereas intratumoural testosterone levels were decreased compared to the control group. These results revealed that genistein ingestion promotes tumour proliferation and elevates metastatic rates by increasing intratumoural and circulating oestrogen levels in a mammary cancer xenograft model.