Medium-term liver and multi-organ carcinogenesis bioassays for carcinogens and chemopreventive agents

To bridge the gap between long-term carcinogenicity tests and short-term screening assays such as the Ames test, several types of medium-term bioassay for rapid detection of carcinogenic agents have been developed using male F344 rats. The liver model, in which diethylnitrosamine initiation and acceleration of carcinogenesis by partial hepatectomy are essential components, requires only 8 weeks of animal experimentation and a few weeks for quantitative analysis of hepatic preneoplastic lesions. Using the model, a total of 250 chemicals have been analyzed and the efficacy of the system for hapatocarcinogens has thereby been well established. Other models are so-called multi-organ bioassays for detection of carcinogenic agents in multiple organs within relatively short periods. Among these, the DMBDD bioassay with 5 known carcinogens as initiators has been found to be most applicable and has now been introduced for practical use. Data from these bioassays and several single organ carcinogenesis systems have demonstrated that carcinogenic and modifying effects of individual exogenous agents may markedly differ from organ to organ. Therefore, research into chemoprevention should be based on a whole body level analysis. The present medium-term systems are very useful for this purpose.