Dietary Protective Effects Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development in Mdr2-/- Knockout Mice.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The Mdr2(-/-) mouse develops early chronic cholestatic hepatitis and hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC) when adult. We tested the effects of a restricted-calorie diet on HCC development in Mdr2(-/-) mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mdr2(-/-) mice (n=40, divided into two groups of 20 mice each) were randomized to receive ad libitum diet or restricted-calorie diet. Two mice from each group were sacrificed at 3 and 6 months, and liver tissue samples were removed for analysis. The remaining mice were fed their respective diets until the age of 30 months, at which time they were euthanized and livers were collected for analysis. RESULTS: The restricted-calorie diet had partial chemopreventive effect on the development of HCC in Mdr2(-/-) mice. Moreover, mice with ad libitum diet had a median survival of 361 days, while the restricted-calorie group had a median survival of 500 days (p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: A restricted diet might reduce the chance of developing HCC in patients at risk and could increase the protective action of anti-inflammatory agents.