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A new cell line (RCN-9) was established in culture from a transplantable rat colon adenocarcinoma, which was induced in the colon of a male Fischer F344 rat by subcutaneous administration of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine. When RCN-9 cells were injected subcutaneously or into the cecal subserosa of syngeneic rats, carcinomas with progressive growth were obtained and the development of lung (63.6%) and liver (40.0%) metastases, respectively, ensued. Antitumor effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), adriamycin (ADM) and mitomycin C (MMC) against RCN-9 were examined in vivo and in vitro. 5-FU and ADM had antitumor effects both in vivo and in vitro; MMC had antitumor effects in vitro. These results show that the RCN-9 cell line can be used both as a model to study mechanisms of metastasis from colon carcinoma and as a model in chemotherapeutic studies of metastatic disease from colon carcinoma.

Quercetin was administered at dietary levels of 0(control), 1.25 and 5.0% to groups of 50 male and 50 female rats for 104 weeks, and then all animals were maintained without quercetin supplement for a further 8 weeks. At 5.0% quercetin, both sexes showed growth retardation throughout the study. There were no treatment-ascribed effects regarding clinical signs, mortality, urinalyses or hematology. Although serum glucose in 5.0% quercetin-treated males was significantly decreased and some relative organ weights in 5.0% groups showed statistically significant increases, these latter changes seemed to be related to the growth retardation. An increased incidence of non-neoplastic hyperplastic polyps in the cecum was noted in the 5.0% males. The incidences of cystic changes and fibroadenomas of the mammary gland, and foci (areas) of hepatocellular alteration in the 5.0% females, and liver bile duct proliferations in the 5.0% males were significantly decreased. No proliferative lesions of the urinary bladder related to treatment with quercetin were found in any rats. The incidences of several other nonneoplastic and neoplastic lesions which demonstrated statistically significant changes appeared to be related to the growth retardation or to be within the normal range, and therefore none was considered to be significant biologically. Thus, the investigation did not demonstrate any clear carcinogenic effect of quercetin on F344 rats at dietary levels of up to 5.0%.

A dose-response study on the carcinogenicity of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourethane (ENUR) was undertaken to examine its effect at low doses. Six-week-old female F344 rats were divided into 5 groups, each consisting of 40 animals. ENUR was dissolved in distilled water at dose levels of 0 (control), 0.15, 0.6, 2.5 and 10 ppm, and rats were given these solutions ad libitum for 2 years. Significant increase of the total tumor incidences and shortening of the mean survival times were observed in groups given 2.5 and 10 ppm ENUR. In groups given 0.6 ppm or more ENUR, digestive tract tumors were induced dose-dependently. They were restricted to the upper digestive tract from the oral cavity to the forestomach, and were histologically squamous cell papillomas or carcinomas. Dose-related differences in the location and incidence of these tumors were found. The virtually safe doses (VSDs) calculated by using the Weibull, Logit and Probit models were 0.365 x 10(-2), 0.110 x 10(-1) and 0.779 x 10(-1) ppm, respectively. The VSDs estimated in the present study are discussed in comparison with those of other carcinogens.