Failure of Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide to Enhance Lung Tumor Development inHamsters

摘要

The authors tested the hypothesis that ozone and nitrogen dioxide modulate thedevelopment of respiratory tract tumors, in particular neuroendocrine cell tumors, in Syrian golden hamsters. The animals received subcutaneous injections of the carcinogen N-diethylnitrosamine (20 mg/kg) twice a week while being exposed continuously to an atmosphere of 0.8 parts per million (ppm) of ozone or 15 ppm nitrogen dioxide. Animals were killed 16 weeks or 24 to 32 weeks after the beginning of the treatment. For positive controls, animals were treated with N-diethylnitrosamine and exposed to 65% oxygen. Ozone delayed the incidence of tumors in the lung periphery. Ozone also seemed to mitigate development of hepatoxic lesions mediated by N-diethylnitrosamine. The role of ozone and nitrogen dioxide as possible additional risks in the pathogenesis of lung cancer in animals continues to remain uncertain.