STUDIES OF DHPN INDUCED PANCREATIC CARCINOMA WITH EMPHASIS ON PANCREATOGRAPHY

Abstract

Pancreatic carcinoma in 49 of 52 (94%) golden hamsters was induced by a weekly subcutaneous injection (500mg/kg b.w.), for a period of 20 to 30 weeks, of 2, 2'-dihydroxy-di-N-propylnitrosamine (DHPN). Both light and trasmission electron microscopy indicated that the neoplasms originated from the ductal epithelium, thereby paralleling the pancreatic adenocarcinoma most often seen in humans. Ductal hyperplasia and adenomatous alteration were also observed in all 52 animals, and some were thought to be precarcinomatous alterations.
In order to elucidate the changes in the ducts and their relation to carcinoma, pancreatography was performed by injection of gelatin-barium sulfate. The pancreatographic alterations were classified into the following 4 types: obstructed, stenosed, displaced and diffused. There was unambiguous parity between the pancreatograms and the histological findings concerning the early alterations of the pancreatic ducts and the development of pancreatic neoplasms. The use of DHPN in the investigation of the morphological aspects of pancreatic carcinoma has proven to be most promising.