Skin tumor initiating ability of benzo(a)pyrene 4,5- 7,5- and 7,8-diol-9,10-epoxides and 7,8-diol.

The skin tumor initiating abilities of both K-region and non-K-region epoxides of benzo(a)pyrene(BP) were determined in mice using a two-stage system of tumorigenesis. BP-4,5-epoxide and BP-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide (anti) were found to be weak tumor initiators whereas BP-7,8-epoxide had about a third of the activity as the parent hydrocarbon, BP. However, the 7,8-dihydrodiol of BP was found to be approximately as potent as BP suggesting that it may be a proximate carcinogen.