ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Breast cancer usually originates in the glandular tissue of the breast. However, inflamed adipose tissue surrounding glandular tissue may expedite the local growth of cancerous cells. Exposing adipose tissue to radiation during mammography might cause inflammation in adipose tissue. This inflammation depends on the dose, and thus on the energy deposited from the X-ray mammography. Therefore, estimating the absorbed dose to adipose tissue during mammography is essential in breast cancer research. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Absorbed dose to adipose tissue in the breast is determined using a new geometrical (semi-elliptical) model and Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code (MCNP6). X-ray mammogram images of patient breasts were taken as the basis of the new compressed breast geometry. The source probability density used in the MCNP6 code was generated from a published X-ray spectrum corresponding to tube voltage and air kerma. The relationship between various mammogram parameters such as peak tube voltage, compressed breast thickness, and adipose tissue weight fraction versus estimated absorbed dose is established for analysis. RESULTS: Significant influences of adipose tissue weight fraction on absorbed dose were observed. CONCLUSION: Estimating the absorbed dose to breast adipose tissue during mammography and patients' degree of obesity are important factors in breast cancer research.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Over half of American women of childbearing age have either obesity or overweight. Hence, maternal programming through diet is critical for prevention of diseases in the offspring. Clinical trials with fish oil (FO) report various health benefits; however, it remains unclear whether maternal and postnatal consumption of FO protects offspring from adverse effects of consuming a high-fat (HF) diet. METHODS: Female mice were fed HF diets supplemented without (HF) or with FO from 8 weeks before pregnancy through lactation. A low-fat (LF) diet was included as a control diet. After weaning, male offspring from HF or FO dams were either continued on their respective diet (HF-HF and FO-FO) or switched to the other diet (HF-FO and FO-HF) and compared with LF. Phenotypic and mechanistic studies were performed. RESULTS: FO-FO offspring demonstrated significantly higher glucose clearance and insulin sensitivity compared with other pups fed the HF diet (P < 0.05). Furthermore, FO-FO pups had lower adiposity, inflammation, and fat deposition in the liver, consistent with reduced markers of hepatic lipogenesis and increased hepatic lipid oxidation. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementation of FO during pregnancy and early life is more beneficial than treating with FO either during pregnancy or in pups.
