Transplantation of hamster buccal pouch carcinoma to neonatal hamsters

Epidermoid carcinomas of oral mucosa were induced with DMBA in the buccal pouches of hamsters. The well-differentiated primary tumors were allografted into the peritoneal cavities of neonatal hamsters that had been treated with antilymphocyte serum. Solid tumors grew rapidly in the peritoneum and were harvested 6 to 31 days postimplantation. Gross and histopathologic specimens revealed infiltrative masses of tumor that had become more anaplastic than the original tumor. This in vivo model has considerable potential as a means of studying the immunology of oral cancers during tumor progression.