Reduction of carcinogen-induced breast cancer in rats by an anti-fertility drug.

PIP: The DMBA (dimethylbenz[a]anthracene)-induced mammary cancer systems seemed to be an ideal model for the study of the influence of oral contraceptives (OCs) on endocrine-related cancers. Groups of 20 female Sprague-Dawley rats, age 40-45 days, weight approximately 150 g, were given 3.0 or 0.3 mg of crystalline Enovid suspended in 1 ml of sesame oil per dose for 45 days. The controls consisted of a group of 20 rats given a single dose of 15 mg of DMBA, of 2 groups of 10 rats administered daily doses of 3.0 and 0.3, respectively, of Enovid for 45 days, and of 1 group of 20 rats on sesame oil. In addition to these 6 groups, 3 additional sets of 5 rats each were fed 3.0 or 0.3 mg Enovid per rat, or 0.3 mg Enovid plus the subsequent single dose of 15 mg DMBA. The animals were weighed weekly and thoroughly examined for the appearance of mammary tumors or other grossly apparent lesions. The dosage of Enovid was selected on the basis of preliminary experiments. With doses of 0.005 mg per 150 g rat the estrus cycle was usually but not always arrested 5 days after the treatment began. At doses of 0.05 and 0.5 mg the cycle was interrupted 3-5 days and at 1 day later. In the final studies with doses of 0.3 and 3.0 mg, the microscopic examination of the smears indicated that the estrus cycle was effectively halted in all rats throughout the Enovid, or Enovid plus carcinogen feeding period but returned to normal shortly after the cessation of Enovid administration. DMBA failed to restore the estrus cycle suggesting that Enovid exerts a pronounced effect on the endocrine system. A single dose of 15 mg DMBA yielded an increasing incidence of mammary tumors which reached 100% after about 6 months. The multiplicity also rose and reached an average of 5.8 masses per rat at the end of the planned experiment period of 9 months. Histopathologic examination of the tumors indicated that there were several types, and even the same tumor nodule exhibited areas of varying morphologic aspect. Administration of the lower level of Enovid tended to inhibit slightly the incidence of mammary cancer. Of the 20 sesame oil control animals, only 1, killed after 237 days, had a large fibroadenoma.^ieng

Serum chemistry templates of disease in liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.

On routine hospital admission, 23,714 patients received a 28-test serum metabolic profile. The 33 most common diseases (4,132 patients) of liver, pancreas, and gallbladder (LPG) had unique chemical templates averaging 15 significant serum deviations. Each LPG disease differed from all others by elevations of both leucine-aminopeptidase (LAP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) levels. LAP level was low or normal and serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and AP levels were elevated in 43 non-LPG diseases. Patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis had elevated amylase levels. The four nonmalignant diseases of the gallbladder were associated with normal levels of amylase and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH); except for silent cholelithiasis, each showed elevated total bilirubin (BIL) levels. Patients with solitary or scattered lesions of the liver had normal bilirubin levels (2,115 patients), and those with diffuse interstitial or parencymal disease had elevated BIL levels. Cancer patients had elevated LDH and alpha1 globulin (A1G) levels, but low albumin levels. The importance of comprehensive liver profiles in the treatment of psychoses is emphasized by significant liver damage in a number of these patients. A1G was normal and LDH was elevated in patients having mononucleosis, hepatitis, lupus erythematosus, alcoholism, and alcoholic cirrhosis.