Hyperthermia and phorbol ester tumor promotion in mouse skin.

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In a two-stage skin tumorigenesis protocol [7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) initiation followed by twice weekly 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) promotion], SENCAR mice developed an average of approximately 8.5 papillomas per animal. Hyperthermia treatments of the initiated skin (44 degrees C, 30 min) immediately before or after each TPA application (for 90 days) reduced papilloma frequency 80-90%. Animals whose initiated skin was made thermo-tolerant at the time of TPA application (by hyperthermia treatment 24 h prior to each application of promoter) showed slightly less protection (approximately 70% reduction in frequency). Multiple 44 degrees C hyperthermia treatments alone (27 X, twice a week) had no promoting activity in DMBA-initiated skin. The usual responses of skin to TPA promotion, including an increase in dark cells, epidermal thickening, reddening and erosion were all suppressed in animals treated with hyperthermia near the time of TPA application. The effect of hyperthermia on tumorigenesis was at the promotion stage and the survival of initiated cells was not affected, since the normal number of papillomas was produced when TPA promotion was delayed until after the multiple (27 X, twice a week) hyperthermia treatments were completed. Hyperthermia treatments (44 degrees C, 30 min, twice weekly for 90 days) given near the time of TPA application also suppressed the incidence of carcinomas appearing within 300 days. About 40% of the DMBA-initiated, TPA-promoted animals developed a carcinoma, compared with only approximately 10% of a similar group which received hyperthermia treatments near each TPA application. Papillomas appearing in spite of hyperthermia treatments during promotion were not more likely to progress into carcinomas than those appearing in unheated animals. Such hyperthermia treatments given to animals bearing pre-existing papillomas did not markedly alter the subsequent development of carcinomas compared with unheated controls. The results demonstrated that 44 degrees C hyperthermia applied near the time of TPA promotion acted as a powerful antipromoter and suppressed the appearance of both papillomas and carcinomas, apparently by acting at an early stage of promotion.