Surgical resection of the rat colon: effects on carcinogenesis by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine

Following a 3-month treatment with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) given weekly (sc), outbred Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to partial resection of the transverse colon. After surgery, DMH treatment was continued for 6 months, after which the rats were killed. At autopsy, 63% of the tumors were found in the transverse colon. By contrast, only 29% of the tumors found in the "sham-operated" control animals occurred in the transverse colon. Surgical trauma in the colon mucosa subjected to the action of carcinogenic agents appeared to promote the conditions suitable for the development of tumors in that organ.