Effect of chemical carcinogen treatment on the immunogenicity of mouse mammary tumors arising from hyperplastic alveolar nodule outgrowth lines.

The experiments reported herein examined the effects of chemical carcinogen treatment of precursor hyperplastic alveolar nodules on the immunogenicity of subsequent mammary tumors in mice. The results of in vitro immunogenicity assays were compared with those of in vivo transplantation resistance tests. This comparison demonstrated that the in vitro assays predicted qualitatively and quantitatively the results from the in vivo test. In addition, the data suggested that the immunogenicity of a tumor depends on events occurring during the development of precursor hyperplastic alveolar nodules rather than during the development of subsequent mammary tumors.