The Incidence of Pulmonary Tumors in Mice Exposed to Aerosols of Therapeutic Agents : An Evaluation of the Possible Carcinogenic Properties of Penicillin, Pyribenzamine, Adrenalin, Cortisone, Trypsin and Desoxyribonuclease

Abstract

In the early part of this century Adler surveyed the literature and found less than 400 recorded cases of primary cancer of the lung. During the ensuing 50 years the incidence of this condition has risen sharply, until now it is one of the most common causes of death in the male. Because of the steadily increasing mortality from this disease, carcinoma of the lung has become one of the most important problems in oncologic research. Spontaneous Pulmonary Tumors in the Mouse: The induction of pulmonary tumors in animals has become an acceptable experimental method of investigating agents that might prove carcinogenic and hence be hazardous to man. Selection of suitable animals for such studies has been difficult in the past, since spontaneous tumors of the lung are rare in most species. The establishment by Strong, in 1921, of an inbred strain of albino mouse (Strain A) which shows a high incidence of spontaneous lung tumors has greatly aided subsequent investigations. Bittner, in 1939, studied the range of occurrence of such tumors in strain A mice and found it to be highly predictable. The known incidence of tumors in the strain A mouse has been of great value in the in vivo testing of possible carcinogens. Origin of Spontaneous Adenomatous Tumor in the Mouse: