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Cancer prevention by bovine lactoferrin: from animal studies to human trial

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Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers and, despite improved colonoscopic screening, CRC is a leading cause of death from cancer. Administration of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) suppresses carcinogenesis in the colon and other organs of test animals, and recently it was shown that ingestion of bLF inhibits the growth of adenomatous polyps in human patients. Here we review work which established bLF as an anti-carcinogenic agent in laboratory animals and the results of a clinical trial which demonstrated that bLF can reduce the risk of colon carcinogenesis in humans.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Shigeru Nawano, Atsushi Otsu, Tomotaka Sobue, and Chikuma Hamada as members of the Independent Data Monitoring Committee; Takahisa Matsuda, Ryuzo Sekiguichi, and Kunihisa Miyakawa for their valuable contributions to the bLF trial; and finally, Takuji Gotoda at the Endoscopic Data Adjudication Committee, Tadakazu Shimoda, a pathologist, Takahiro Fujii, an endoscopist (until June 2003), and Morinaga Milk Industry Ltd., the bLF trial sponsor. We thank Morinaga Milk Industry for providing the bovine lactoferrin and placebo tablets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanotoxicology Project, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 1 Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan

    Hiroyuki Tsuda, David B. Alexander & Masaaki Iigo

  2. Cancer Screening Division, National Cancer Center, Research Center for Cancer Prevention and Screening, Tokyo, Japan

    Takahiro Kozu

  3. Diagnostic Radiology Division, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

    Gen Iinuma

  4. Department of Biostatistics, School of Health Sciences and Nursing, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Yasuo Ohashi

  5. Endoscopy Division, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

    Yutaka Saito & Daizo Saito

  6. Colorectal Surgery Division, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

    Takayuki Akasu

  7. Department of Molecular Toxicology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan

    Hiroyuki Tsuda, David B. Alexander, Mitsuru Futakuchi, Katsumi Fukamachi, Jiegou Xu & Masaaki Iigo

  8. National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan

    Tadao Kakizoe

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  1. Hiroyuki Tsuda
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  2. Takahiro Kozu
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  3. Gen Iinuma
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  4. Yasuo Ohashi
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  7. Takayuki Akasu
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  8. David B. Alexander
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  13. Masaaki Iigo
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Correspondence to David B. Alexander.

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Tsuda, H., Kozu, T., Iinuma, G. et al. Cancer prevention by bovine lactoferrin: from animal studies to human trial. Biometals 23, 399–409 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-010-9331-3

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