Influence of combined deficiency of fat and vitamin A on benzo(a)pyrene-induced lung carcinogenesis in rats.

The present study shows the effect of combined dietary deprivation of fat and vitamin A on benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) induced lung carcinogenesis in male Wistar rats. Lung tumors were induced by intratracheal instillation of BaP-Fe2O3 in normal saline. The tumor incidence and tumor burden in control animals were 82% and 2.28 respectively. Fat deficiency decreased the tumor incidence to 57% and tumor burden to 1.66. On the other hand, in vitamin A deficiency these were 83% and 4.02 respectively. Fat deprivation in the diet of animals fed with vitamin A deficient diet decreased the tumor incidence and tumor burden to 69.6% and 2.7 respectively. The results suggest a protective role of low intake of fat in vitamin A deficiency for BaP-induced lung tumorigenesis in rats.