Effects of neonatally administered diethylstilbestrol on induction of mammary carcinomas induced by 7, 12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene in female rats.

Various doses of diethylstilbestrol (DES) were administered to rats once at birth. Thereafter, at 50 days after birth, the rats in all groups were given 10 mg 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) and undergone necropsy at 300 days after birth. The incidence of mammary carcinomas (MCs) were 50, 54, 91, 39, 19% at 175 days after birth, and 77, 87, 100, 85, 75% at necropsy in the 0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 microg groups, respectively. The incidence of rats without corpus luteum were 0, 0, 0, 30, 100% at 50 days after birth, and 0, 40, 53, 93, 100% at necropsy in the 0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 microg groups, respectively. Observation of the whole mount specimens showed a higher number of terminal end buds (TEBs) in the 1 microg group and a lower number in the 100 microg group compared with the control at 50 days after birth. It suggested that the administration of a relatively low dose (1 microg) of DES during neonatal period may increase TEBs, thus resulting in a stimulatory effect on the initiation of MCs.