Effect of dietary curcumin and dibenzoylmethane on formation of 7,12- dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced mammary tumors and lymphomas/leukemias in Sencar mice

Female Sencar mice (6 weeks old) were administered 1 mg of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) by oral gavage once a week for 5 weeks. At20 weeks after the first dose of DMBA, 68% of mice developed mammary tumors(the average 1.08 tumors per mouse) and 45% had lymphomas/leukemias.Feeding 1% dibenzoylmethane (DBM) in AIN 76A diet, starting at 2 weeksbefore the first dose of DMBA and continuing until the end of theexperiment, inhibited both the multiplicity and incidence of DMBA-inducedmammary tumor by 97%. The incidence of lymphomas/leukemias was completelyinhibited by 1% DBM diet. In contrast, feeding 2% curcumin diet had littleor no effect on the incidence of mammary tumors, and the incidence oflymphomas/leukemias was reduced by 53%.