Transplantable chemically-induced liver tumors in the viviparous fish Poeciliopsis

Transplantation of five liver tumors induced with the chemicals diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) in small live-bearing fish of the genus Poeciliopsis is reported. Five permanent strains representing three distinct tumor types were established in isogenic hosts. Histological characterization of hepatocellular carcinoma, hemangiopericytic sarcoma, and cholangiocarcinoma and the development of the neoplasms in host fish is presented. Transplantability of the experimental liver tumors provides evidence of their malignant nature. Metastasis of the hepatocellular carcinoma occurred from tumor implants in the dorsal musculature or peritoneal cavity and from the hemangiopericytic sarcoma implanted in the intraperitoneal cavity.