Chemoprevention of Mammary Preneoplasia

Abstract

The major findings of this study can be summarized as follows: (1) the c-myc oncogene-transfected and MTV-expressing mammary epithelial cells exhibit aberrant hyperproliferation in vitro preceding tumorigenesis in vivo; (2) upregulation of aberrant hyperproliferation (i.e., anchorage-independent growth) in initiated cells represents a cellular marker for preneoplastic transformation; (3) the tea polyphenol EGCG differentially downregulates aberrant hyperproliferation in myc oncogene- and MTV-initiated cells; (4) the present in vitro model provides an efficient assay for chemoprevention of mammary preneoplasia by naturally occurring compounds.