Abstract
Epidemiological studies suggest that benzotrichloride (BTC) is a human carcino-gen. In the present study, BTC was tested to evaluate its ability to induce lung tumors as a result of systemic exposure. Administration of BTC by gastric intubation, 2.0-0.0315 μl/ mouse (4 doses), twice a week for 25 weeks, in female ICR mice, produced forestomach tumors (squamous cell caricinoma and papilloma), lung tumors (adenocarcinoma and adeno-ma) and tumors of the hematopoietic system (thymic lymphosarcoma and lymphatic leuke-mia) with dose-related response by 18 months. The present and previous studies indicate that the target organs of BTC carcinogenesis in mice are the local tissue which is primarily exposed, and the lung and hematopoietic tissue when BTC is administered systemically.
