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Carotenoids and Cancer in Animal Models^{1 ,2}

Department of Biochemistry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111

As evidence accumulated from epidemiological studies that ß-carotene acts as a chemopreventive agent with respect to inhibiting the appearance of certain types of tumors in humans, attention focused on animal models as a means of extending our understanding of carotenoid function. Unfortunately, most animals used in research are "white fat" animals, and require large amounts of carotenoids in their diets to obtain significant blood and tissue levels. Even with these limitations, ß-carotene, a provitamin A carotenoid, as well as canthaxanthin, a non-provitamin A carotenoid, have been shown to protect animals against UV-induced skin tumors, UV and carcinogen-induced tumors, and carcinogen treatment alone. Similar observations have been made in cell and organ cultures where carotenoids have been shown to prevent malignant transformation and nuclear damage. Although the mechanism of this protection is still unclear, the evidence continues to accumulate that carotenoids may possess intrinsic chemopreventive action with respect to tumor formation.

KEY WORDS: • carotenoids • chemoprevention • cancer

¹ This work was supported by PHS grant number CA 42587 awarded by the National Cancer Institute.

² Presented as part of the symposium, "Biological Actions of Carotenoids," given at the 72nd annual meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Las Vegas, NV, May 2, 1988, and supported by grants from the BASF Corporation, Hoffmann-LaRoche Inc., and the National Dairy Council.

Manuscript received 13 July 1988. Revision accepted 29 August 1988.