Medium-term protocols for in vivo evaluation of chemical modifiers of carcinogenesis

Cancer development is a long-term multistep process which allows interventional measure before the clinical disease emerges. The detection of natural substances which can block the process of carcinogenesis is as important as the identification of anti-tumoral drugs since they might be used in chemoprevention of cancer in high-risk groups. In vivo rodent models of chemical carcinogenesis have been used to study plant-derived inhibitors of carcinogenesis such as indoles, coumarins, isothiocyanates, flavones, phenols and allyl-sulfides. Since the standard in vivo rodent bioassay is prolonged and expensive, shorter reliable protocols are needed. Two in vivo medium-term protocols for evaluation of modifiers of carcinogenesis are presented, one related to liver and the other to bladder cancer. Both protocols use rats, last 8 and 36 weeks and are based on the two-step concept of carcinogenesis: initiation and promotion. The protocols use respectively the development of altered foci of hepatocytes expressing immunohistochemically the placental form of glutathione S-transferase and the appearance of pre-neoplastic urothelium and papillomas as the "end-points". The use of these protocols for detection of plant-derived inhibitors of carcinogenesis appear warranted.