Induction of lymphomas in mice by busulfan and chloramphenicol

Busulfan causes long-lasting defects in the hematopoietic stem cells and in the immune system of mice. We designed studies to determine whether chloramphenicol further damaged the already defective hematopoietic stem cells of mice that were pretreated with busulfan, and we unexpectedly observed that mice given injections of the combination of busulfan and chloramphenicol developed lymphomas in relatively high incidence. The disease is invariably associated with splenomegaly and enlargement of the thymus. Leukocytosis with lymphoblasts in the peripheral blood occurred in some affected mice. The malignant cell is a lymphoblast of thymic origin. Thirteen of 37 mice which received both busulfan and chloramphenicol developed lymphomas. An additional five of the remaining 24 mice without proven lymphoma died and were not autopsied. Twelve of the 13 proven lymphomas developed within 280 days from the start of the experiment. Four of the 35 mice treated with busulfan alone developed lymphomas, and an additional five of the remaining 31 died but were not autopsied. Two of 41 mice treated with only chloramphenicol developed lymphomas. Of the mice treated with either busulfan or chloramphenicol alone that developed lymphomas, all did so more than 280 days from the start of the experiment. None of the control mice developed lymphoma. We conclude that both busulfan and chloramphenicol may induced lymphomas in mice that are not known to develop them spontaneously. The combination of both busulfan and chloramphenicol increased the frequency and accelerated the onset of the disease.