Freund's vaccine adjuvant promotes Her2/Neu breast cancer
2009

Freund's Adjuvant and Breast Cancer in Rats

Sample size: 60 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Michelle S Cotroneo, Jill D Haag, Nicholas R Stapel, Jordy L Waller, Stephan Woditschka, Michael N Gould

Primary Institution: McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Hypothesis

Does systemic inflammation induced by Freund's adjuvant promote mammary carcinogenesis in a rat model?

Conclusion

Systemic inflammation induced by Freund's adjuvant promotes mammary carcinogenesis in rats.

Supporting Evidence

  • Rats receiving Freund's adjuvant developed twice the number of mammary carcinomas as controls.
  • Systemic inflammation was chronic, indicated by elevated serum haptoglobin levels.
  • Increased growth of hyperplastic mammary lesions was associated with higher cell proliferation rates.

Takeaway

This study found that a substance used in vaccines can cause inflammation that might lead to breast cancer in rats.

Methodology

Rats were treated with Freund's adjuvant and monitored for mammary carcinoma development and inflammation markers.

Potential Biases

Potential bias in animal model applicability to human breast cancer.

Limitations

The study was conducted in rats, and results may not directly translate to humans.

Participant Demographics

Virgin Wistar-Furth female rats.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2407-9-19

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