Radiation carcinogenesis. Progress report V, 16 May 1977--15 May 1978

Experiments are underway on the cocarcinogenic effects of asbestos and carcinogenic hydrocarbons using rats and mice as test objects. None of the protocols of these experiments have as yet been completed. The study of tumorigenesis in irradiated parabiont rats has been completed. Study of the benign tumors indicates that radiation is an effective neoplastic stimulus for only a limited number of organs and tissues, chiefly ovary, adrenal, mammary tissue, islands of Langerhans, and liver. In general the benign tumors did not seriously affect health, and in only a very few animals did they become malignant. The incidence of malignant tumors in the parabiont series has been tabulated and analyzed. Parabiosis alone appears to increase the incidence of leukemia and solid lymphoid tumors in NEDH rats. Our study of radiation tumorigenesis in the adrenal cortest in the mouse has been completed. The cortex is highly resistant to tumor induction by irradiation. Cortical tumorigenesis is strongly influenced by changes in pituitary and ovarian hormones. Proliferation of capsular ''A'' cells appears to be an important early factor in carcinogenesis. Hormonal imbalance continues to be an important factor in tumorigenesis in the parabiont pairs. If each of a pair of parabiont rats is irradiated sequentially at intervals, 30 days after a lethal dose of radiation is enough to permit the irradiated rat to support its partner through a like dose as effectively as would an unirradiated animal. The transplantable radiation-induced functioning pheochromocytoma and insulinoma of rats continue to be valuable research tools