Dehydroepiandrosterone intake protects against 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary tumor development in the obese Zucker rat model.

Obesity has been epidemic in the US for over two decades; almost 65% of adults in the US are overweight. Obesity has been linked with the risk of development of various cancers, including breast cancer. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an over-the-counter dietary supplement used as an immunomodulating, anti-depressant, anti-aging, anti-cardiovascular disease, and anti-cancer agent and anti-obesity supplement. The objectives of this study were to investigate the long-term effects of obesity and DHEA treatment on body weight gain and on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumor development. Forty-three six-week-old obese female Zucker rats were used. Rats were randomly assigned and had ad libitum access to water and a diet of either chow (2016) as a control diet or chow with the addition of DHEA at a concentration of 6 g/kg of chow as a DHEA diet. All rats were orally gavaged at age 50 days with 65 mg DMBA/kg body weight. Rats were weighed and palpated twice weekly for detection of mammary tumors and sacrificed 155 days post-DMBA treatment. Obese rats fed the DHEA diet gained significantly less weight than obese control diet rats (P<0.001). At the end of the experiment, 55% of the control diet group developed mammary tumors, while no tumors were detected in the DHEA diet group (P<0.001). Our results suggest that DHEA treatment can reduce body weight gain and protects against DMBA-induced mammary tumor development in the obese Zucker rat model.