Effect of anesthetic agent on lung tumor induction in hamsters given benzo[a]pyrene-ferric oxide

The effects of an anesthetic agent on lung tumor induction in noninbred Syrian golden hamsters were investigated after intratracheal instillation of a benzo[a]pyrene-ferric oxide mixture. Inhalation anesthesia with ether or methoxyflurane was accomplished with a closed recirculatory system that allowed a short induction time for anesthesia and a good control over the concentration of anesthetic. This type of anesthetic induction was compared with systemic induction by Brevital. Survival rates during the 10 weekly instillations were least for the Brevital-treated group and greatest for the methoxyflurane-treated group. Body weight gain was lower in both the ether- and Brevital-treated groups as compared to the group anesthetized with methoxyflurane. The animals anesthetized with Brevital had the shortest tumor latency, but the tumor incidence during the weeks of the experiment was similar in the group treated with this agent and the group treated with ether. Exposure to methoxyflurane and the carcinogen produced a slow onset of deaths from tumors and lower tumor incidence. These results are discussed in relation to retention of the dose of carcinogen in the respiratory tract and effect of inhalation anesthia on consequent lung tissue pathology.