Tauroursodeoxycholate and cholestyramine enhance biliary carcinogenesis in hamsters

The aim of this study was to examine whether tauroursodeoxycholate (TUDC) and cholestyramine resin (CR) enhance biliary carcinogenesis in the hamster model. A cholecystoduodenostomy with dissection of the extrahepatic bile duct on the distal end of the common duct was performed on Syrian hamsters. The hamsters were then divided randomly into 3 groups: control group, TUDC-treated group, and CR-treated group. All animals received N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP) to initiate pancreaticobiliary cancer. The experiment was terminated at week 16 and the number of neoplastic lesions was counted microscopically. In the TUDC group, the intrahepatic biliary carcinogenesis was more accelerated than that observed in the control group, but no promoting effect was seen in the pancreas, gallbladder, or extrahepatic bile duct. In the CR group, both the intrahepatic biliary and the gallbladder carcinogenesis were inhibited compared with that observed in the control group and the TUDC group. TUDC enhanced the intrahepatic bile duct carcinogenesis, whereas CR inhibited both the intrahepatic bile duct and the gallbladder carcinoma. Bile acids were suggested to promote biliary carcinoma in the hamster model.