The effects of organ resection on rat urinary bladder carcinogenesis

The effect of unilateral nephrectomy, orchiectomy or partial hepatectomy on the growth of chemically induced rat bladder tumors was investigated. Male F344 rats were treated with 0.05% N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (BBN) for 5 weeks, and surgical resection of one of these organs was performed 2 weeks after the completion of BBN administration. Histological evaluation of the bladder 24 weeks after the start of the experiment revealed that unilateral nephrectomy and orchiectomy significantly increased the numbers of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions as compared with the corresponding sham-operated groups. Partial hepatectomy also enhanced tumor growth, although not significantly. Immunohistochemical studies examining the effect of organ resection on normal bladder urothelium showed that BrdU immunostaining of urothelial cells significantly increased 7 days after unilateral nephrectomy or orchiectomy, while BrdU incorporation was minimum after partial hepatectomy or sham operation. C-met expression in the bladder urothelium was evident following unilateral nephrectomy or partial hepatectomy, while increased immunoreactivity of androgen receptor was noted following unilateral orchiectomy. Further study is needed to determine the exact mechanism of the bladder tumor growth-enhancing effect associated with organ restriction.