Inhibitory effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate on foreign body tumorigenesis in mice

This paper reports on the investigation of the effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) on foreign body tumorigenesis that resulted from sc implantation of a glass cylinder. Adult BALB/c mice of both sexes bearing the foreign body were separated into groups. Group 1 received 40 mg MPA sc every 2 months during 1 year, in the vicinity of the glass cylinder; group 2 received the same MPA treatment in the contralateral flank; and group 3 received no hormonal treatment. Sarcomas developed in 4 of 39, 9 of 41, and 17 of 39 mice, respectively. With the use of an evaluation based on the number of high-risk mice per time interval, the MPA inhibitory effect was found to be statistically significant in both groups: 26, 53, and 79% tumor incidence, respectively. A decrease in the rate of tumor development also was observed but only in mice treated with MPA in situ. An unexpected side effect of continuous MPA administration in females was the appearance of adenocarcinomas.