Susceptibility of gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) to weekly subcutaneous and single intravenous injections of N-diethylnitrosamine.

Weekly s.c. (24, 12, and 6 mg/kg b.w.) or a single i.v. (100 or 50 mg/kg b.w.) injections of N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN) to gerbils (meriones unguiculatus) resulted in tumours of the respiratory tract and liver. Carcinomata of the nasal olfactory region or respiratory-olfactory mucosal junction were most common; papillomata of the tracheobronchial system and adenomata or carcinomata of the lungs appeared in significantly lower incidences. The neoplasms of the liver were of cholangiocellular and in a few cases of hepatocellular origin.