Anticancer Effects of IP6 in a Human Colon Carcinoma Cell Line in Nude Mice Xenografts

Kim, Chan Dong; Lee, Jeong Eun; Lee, Ryung Ah; Kim, Kwang Ho

Abstract

PURPOSE
Inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) is a naturally occurring polyphosphorylated carbohydrate that has been shown to suppress the growth of epithelial cancer. Because IP6 is a dietary phytochemical present in cereals, soy, legumens, and fiber-rich foods, we evaluated the efficacy of IP6 against colon cancer formation.
METHODS
HT-29 cells were injected into nude mice. The animals were fed a normal diet (group 1), a low IP6 diet (group 2), and a high IP6 diet (group 3) for 4 wk. Body weight, tumor volume, tumor growth rate, growth inhibition rate, and therapeutic ratio were monitored after injection of HT-29 cells.
RESULTS
HT-29-cell human-colon-carcinoma xenograft mice treated with IP6 showed a significant reduction in tumor growth rate, irrespective of the IP6 dose compared to normal diet group. Compared with the control group, group 3 showed a significant reduction (45%) in tumor volume. In the therapeutic ratio gain profiles, IP6 diet groups showed a significant alteration of therapeutic ratio when compared with the normal diet group (0% vs. 11%, P=0.014). In the body weight gain profiles, group 3 showed a significant reduction of body weight compared with the other two groups (20.25 g vs. 21.6 g, 21.7 g, P=0.009). Groups 1 and 2 showed similar changes in body weight. Tumor xenografts from IP6-fed mice showed significantly decreased cancer formation and growth, but increased toxicity was noted for high doses of IP6.
CONCLUSION
These results indicate that in the future, IP6 could be an effective chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agent for use in the treatment of colon cancer.