Effect of dietary molybdenum on esophageal carcinogenesis in rats induced by N-methyl-N-benzylnitrosamine.

The influence of dietary molybdenum on esophageal carcinogenesis induced by N-methyl-N-benzylnitrosamine (2.5 mg per kg of body weight once a week for 20 wk s.c.) was studied in male F344 rats. The tumor incidence and tumor development in the esophagus were significantly lower in the rats in the high-molybdenum (2 ppm) diet group than in the rats in the low-molybdenum (0.032 ppm) diet group; i.e., 44.4% (0.6 +/- 0.8) and 73.2% (2.2 +/- 2.0), respectively. The molybdenum levels in the esophagus-forestomach, liver, and serum were significantly higher in the high-molybdenum diet group than in the low-molybdenum diet group. Xanthine oxidase activity in the esophagus and forestomach in the high-molybdenum diet group was significantly higher than that in the low-molybdenum diet group, whereas liver and serum xanthine oxidase activities were not significantly different between these two groups. These results suggest that xanthine oxidase in the esophagus plays a significant role in the inhibitory effect of molybdenum on esophageal carcinogenesis.