Increased multiplicity of lung adenomas in five generations of mice treated with benz(a)pyrene when pregnant

• Published in: Cancer letters Vol. 55; no. 3; p. 227
• Main Authors: Turusov, V S, Nikonova, T V, Parfenov YuD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland 17-12-1990
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - chemically induced; Adenocarcinoma - epidemiology; Adenocarcinoma - genetics; Animals; Benzo(a)pyrene - toxicity; Female; Genetic Diseases, Inborn - epidemiology; Incidence; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - chemically induced; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - epidemiology; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental - genetics; Lung Neoplasms - chemically induced; Lung Neoplasms - epidemiology; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Male; Mice; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary - chemically induced; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary - epidemiology; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary - genetics; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
• ISSN: 0304-3835
• DOI: 10.1016/0304-3835(90)90123-F

The effect of benz(a)pyrene (BP) given to female mice of A strain on the 18 and 19th days of pregnancy was studied in 5 consecutive generations. As expected there was a high incidence of lung tumours (TBA%) in the F1-generation of mice treated with BP (53.9 vs. 15.4% in control in females and 77.6 vs. 8.0% in control in males). The percentage of TBA was not increased (with one exception) in both males and females of F2-F5 generations which were not directly exposed to carcinogen. Tumor multiplicity increase occurred not only in the F1 generation of BP-treated mice but in both males and females of F2-F5 generations of mice which were not in direct contact with the carcinogen. This increase was statistically significant. There was a slight negative trend within F2-F5 generation of BP-treated mice which however was not significant. Thus the transgenerational carcinogenic effect manifested in a greater tumour multiplicity persisted for four unexposed generations.