Development of a carcinogen-induced rat colon cancer with lymph-node metastases

The progression from normal colonic mucosa to invasive adenocarcinoma of the colon with lymph-node metastases was documented in Sprague-Dawley rats receiving 30 mg of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea via intrarectal injections. Histologically, these tumors closely resemble human colonic cancer. This model is predictable and reproducible. It offers a genetically nonidentical rat model for the development of cancer biology and therapy models.