Carcinogenicity of diethylnitrosamine in vitamin-A-deficient mice

The effect of suboptimal levels of dietary vitamin A on diethylnitrosamine (DEN) carcinogenesis was studied in BALB/c and Swiss mice. Two different dietary regimens were employed to induce vitamin A deficiency and DEN was administered by gavage at 2 dose levels: 0.6 mg/kg as a single dose and 200 mg/kg in 4 divided doses. Shark liver oil (SLO) which was the main source of vitamin A in the standard diet, was deleted in one regimen and reduced to 25% in the other. The mice maintained on the former diet were given a high dose of DEN and those on the latter diet received a low dose. In both strains the deficient mice had a greater tumour incidence than those on standard diet with a marginal reduction in the latent period. At the low level of DEN there was shift in organotrophy, i.e. from liver in controls to lung in the vitamin-A-deficient mice of BALB/c strain. With the higher dose, lung adenomas predominated in deficient as well as control groups in both the strains. Forestomach carcinomas appeared in deficient mice and not in the controls.