The effect of intralesional bleomycin on canine acanthomatous epulis

Four dogs with recurrent acanthomatous epulis (AE) were injected with bleomycin (5 mg) intralesionally once a week. In three cases, tumors were clinically indistinguishable within three-to-eight weeks. In the fourth case, the tumor disappeared after 10 weekly injections. Through the administration period of bleomycin, no adverse reactions were recognized in any case. Electron microscopic examination together with a decrease in the percentage of mitotic cells implied that bleomycin might inhibit deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis of tumor cells.