Efficacy comparison of lyophilised black raspberries and combination of celecoxib and PBIT in prevention of carcinogen-induced oesophageal cancer in rats

The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and mechanism of lyophilised black raspberries (BRB) versus the combination of celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, and S,S′-1,4-phenylene-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)bis-isothiourea (PBIT), a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor in inhibition of carcinogen-induced oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma in rats. Our data indicated that tumour multiplicity and histologic grade of oesophageal precancerous lesions were reduced in animals fed BRB compared to those fed celecoxib + PBIT. The mechanistic studies showed that BRB and its major anthocyanin suppressed cell proliferation and oncogenic signalling. Our findings demonstrated that dietary BRB is superior to the combination of two pharmaceutical drugs in oesophageal cancer prevention. These observations suggest the potential value of translational studies using BRB food products for oesophageal cancer prevention in humans, particularly those with high-risk premalignant lesions.