Colon adenocarcinomas in European hamsters after application of N-nitroso-bis 2-oxypropyl-amine

In the European hamster (EH) weekly subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of N-nitrosobis-(2-oxypropyl)-amine (BOP) (LD50, males: 174 mg/kg, body weight (b.w.), females: 118 mg/kg b.w.) induced adenocarcinomas of the colon in 77% (1/10 LD50), 70% (1/20 LD50) and 87% (1/40 LD50) of the treated animals (combined incidence for both sexes (c.i.)). Cholangiocellular carcinomas, the second most common type of tumor were produced in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore tumors were found in the respiratory tract, urinary tract the integumentum system and the exocrine pancreas. The presented data show a difference between the BOP-induced tumor spectrum in European hamsters and that of Syrian hamsters [5,8,11]. The high incidence of colon adenocarcinomas may provide a further model of colon carcinogenesis.