Absolute and relative organ weight trends in B6C3F1 mice

Since the early 1970s, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Toxicology Program (NTP) have conducted carcinogenesis and toxicology studies on several hundred chemicals using the B6C3F1 mouse. A number of publications have examined growth, survival, and tumor incidence over time, including the impact of changes in housing and diet. However, no reports have been published to date examining the variation in organ weights over time, especially in light of reported body weight effects associated with housing and diet changes. Therefore, all available absolute and relative organ weight data for untreated control B6C3F1 mice were collected from 2-wk, 3-mo, and 15-mo NCI/NTP investigations with report dates through August 2010 in order to examine organ weight changes over time and by study type. Study data were grouped into 5-yr intervals by initiation date. Body weights in males increased over time except in 2-wk studies, while body weights in females rose through 1993 and remained constant or declined thereafter. Higher body weights were noted in individually housed mice, and in drinking water studies compared to feed or inhalation studies. Elevated organ weights were typically associated with increased body weights except that lower organ weights were evident as early as 2-wk on study with the introduction of the NTP-2000 diet in 1994. Relative organ weights decreased over time in males and females. Finally, organ weight coefficients of variation (standard deviation/mean) declined over time in 2-wk, 3-mo, and 15-mo studies, which may reflect improved data collection methods or reduced interlaboratory variability.