Differential effects of surgical suture materials in 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced rat intestinal neoplasia

The incidence, distribution, size, and histopathology of rat small and large bowel tumors induced by sequential administration of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine followed by cecal placement of one of six differing types of suture materials were systematically examined. In addition, measurements of beta-glucuronidase activities in large bowel contents followed by fecal trace metal determinations were done. The results indicate that specific slowly absorbed and nonabsorbable suture materials in the absence of a surgical anastomosis promote tumor induction locally in the rat cecum. In addition, cecal suture material composed of multifilament stainless steel wire enhanced tumor development at a "downstream" site in the distal colon, paralleling increased fecal beta-glucuronidase activities at this site and implicating a possible luminally mediated mechanism for colon tumor development in this animal model.