Temperature effect on chemical-induced carcinogenesis in hamster cheek pouch

7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), a potent chemical carcinogen, was used to induce oral cancer on hamster buccal pouch, under two temperature regimes (22±2 and 28±2°C) for 25 weeks of observation. The animal group under high temperature showed rapid tumour incidence and weight loss. It also exhibited biochemical changes such as reduced lipid peroxidation in the oral tumour tissue, accompanied by significant increase in the levels of reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-s-transferase. Therefore, we propose that elevated temperature is a cofactor, accelerating the process of DMBA-induced carcinogenesis in hamster cheek pouch.