Nutritional-pharmacological combinations--a novel approach to reducing colon cancer incidence.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that n-9 fatty acids in olive oil prevent colon carcinogenesis while n-6 PUFA seems to activate this process.

Aims: To evaluate the effects of nutritional-pharmacological combinations made up of olive or soy oil-based diets and the drug sulindac, on colon cancer incidence in a chemically induced (1,2-dimethylhydrazine, DMH) rat cancer model.

Methods: Male rats were assigned to two different dietary regimes based on a standard murine defined diet (AIN-76A) containing either a low (4%) or high (15 %) concentration of olive or soy oil.