Liver Carcinoma and Related Lesions in Chronic Choline Deficiency

Cirrhosis and hepatoma in alcoholics.

“…Alternatively, continued heavy drinking and poor nutrition may have an inhibitory effect on the development of hepatoma; subsequently, when liver disease is established and with the substitution of a nutritious diet and a reduced alcohol intake, circumstances may be more favourable for the development of hepatoma, either spontaneously or in response to carcinogens. Primary hepatic tumours have been noted in experimental animals maintained on diets deficient in choline (Copeland and Salmon, 1946;Salmon and Copeland, 1954) and various food factors, notably riboflavine, lessen the incidence of hepatic tumours in animals given carcinogens (Kensler, Sagiura, Young, Halter, and Rhoads, 1941).…”

Choline Deficiency, Partial Hepatectomy, and Liver Tumors in Rats and Mice

“…Salmon where its early development took place (1). The model emerged from studies designed to examine the effects of nutrient interactions on the liver and on other organs and tissues (2)(3)(4)(5)(6). The interesting observation that rats maintained on choline deficient diets for long periods of time developed hepatocellular carcinomas attracted widespread attention, since, in this case, omitting a substance from the diet, rather than adding one, resulted in neoplasia (2, 3,4,5,6).…”

“…The model emerged from studies designed to examine the effects of nutrient interactions on the liver and on other organs and tissues (2)(3)(4)(5)(6). The interesting observation that rats maintained on choline deficient diets for long periods of time developed hepatocellular carcinomas attracted widespread attention, since, in this case, omitting a substance from the diet, rather than adding one, resulted in neoplasia (2, 3,4,5,6). Hepatocellular carcinoma, associated with choline deficiency, was considered to be a result of the deficit of lipotropes which proceed over time through a series of sequential alterations including fatty liver, parenchymal cell hyperplasia, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and ultimately liver cancer.…”

Diet: The Neglected Variable in Chemical Safety Evaluations

“…(26). This observation was an anomaly in the annals of experimental carcinogenesis to that date because it represented a case of taking something out of the diet rather than adding something (a carcinogen) to it to induce a cancer.…”