The influence of pre- and postnatal caloric intake on colon carcinogenesis

Mother rats were allowed to litter under conventional conditions. They were fed a complete, semipurified diet during gestation, and at time of littering the numbers of pups were reduced to either eight per litter or four per litter in two additional groups. At weaning, all rats were continued on the same diet that their mothers had consumed. One group of those reduced to four per litter at birth was allowed to continue to eat ad libitum while the other group, reduced to four per litter, was pair fed to the ad libitum eight per litter group. The group reduced to four per litter at birth and allowed to eat ad libitum during postnatal life gained the most weight and were heaviest at the termination of the study. This group also had the greater incidence and frequency of colon tumors when exposed to dimethylhydrazine (DMH). The group pair fed to rats fed conventional diets, eight rats per litter, had an incidence and frequency of tumors between the other two groups. These data demonstrate that early exposure to excess calories increased risk for cancer and that early and late excess caloric intake further increased risk. Thus, pre- and perinatal caloric intake may have a significant influence on susceptibility to cancer later in life. Mechanisms are only speculative but may include differences in metabolism and modulation of hormonal balance.