Does alpha-linolenic acid in combination with linoleic acid influence liver metastasis and hepatic lipid peroxidation in BOP-induced pancreatic cancer in Syrian hamsters?

Some fatty acids are reported to inhibit tumor growth of pancreatic carcinoma. However, it is still unknown if alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) inhibit liver metastasis of ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Therefore we studied the effect of these fatty acids on liver metastasis in the animal model of N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP)-induced pancreatic adenocarcinoma in Syrian hamsters. Since lipid peroxidation seems to be involved in carcinogenesis and metastasis, we further analyzed the intrahepatic concentration of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). We observed an increase in the incidence and the number of liver metastases in response to the combination of ALA and LA. This was accompanied by a decrease in hepatic GSH-Px activity and an increase in hepatic SOD activity and TBARS concentration. The increase in hepatic lipid peroxidation seems to be one possible mechanism of increasing liver metastasis in this study.