Dietary fish oil sensitizes A549 lung xenografts to doxorubicin chemotherapy

A549 xenografts were allowed to grow in nude mice to about 5 mm in diameter, then diets were changed to modified AIN-76 diets containing 19% wt./wt. fish oil (FO) or 20% wt./wt. corn oil (CO). Ten days later dietary ferric citrate (0.3% wt./dry wt.) was added and doxoribicin (DOX) treatment (3.6 mg/kg i.v. each of the 5 days for 18 days) commenced. Treatment with DOX halted the growth of tumors in the CO fed mice. However, in those mice, which consumed FO or FO with ferric citrate, treatment with DOX caused significant tumor regression.