Abstract
Carcinogenesis in the rat intestine induced with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH), N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), and their combinatorial use was studied. Intestinal tumors, including both adenoma and adenocarcinoma, were induced in all the rats given the carcinogens. The tumor frequently occurred in the intestinal tract extending from the duodenum to the colon in the DMH treated group. In the MNU treated group, the tumor occurred in the colon, especially on the distal side. Distribution of tumors in the group treated with both carcinogens was similar to that seen in the MNU-treated group. Neither obvious macroscopic nor histological differences were observed between groups treated with these carcinogens. In addition, we investigated the effect of carcinogens on ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in rat colon. Tumor tissues showed a remarkably high level of enzyme activity compared with the normal-appearing mucosa, and there was a correlation between the level of the ODC activity and the histological grade of malignancy. ODC activity in the normal-appearing mucosa of the carcinogens-treated rats was significantly higher than that of control rats, and the number of tumors per rat was correlated with the level of ODC activity. These results indicate that mucosal ODC may be a pertinent biological marker for local carcinogenic activity.
