Abstract
Summary
Comparative tests with 4,5-dimethyl- and 4,5,10-trimethylbenz(a)anthracine show that both compounds were highly carcinogenic for Fischer line 344 rats. Both compounds were more effective than the 3 most active previously reported monomethyl derivatives with methyl groups in the 4,5, and 10 position. Tumors induced by the trimethyl compound occurred in a significantly shorter average latent period than tumors induced by the dimethyl derivative and were probably more malignant.
The 76 subcutaneous sarcomas induced by the trimethyl compound were observed in an average latent period of 170 ± 5.9 days compared with 186 ± 4.1 days observed for the 77 similar tumors induced by the dimethyl compound. Metastatic dissemination was observed in 20% of the rats with tumors induced by the trimethyl compound compared with only 6% of the rats with tumors induced by the dimethyl compound.
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