Selective induction of glandular stomach carcinoma in F344 rats by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea.

To study the carcinogenic action of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) on the stomach, MNU in distilled water at a concentration of 400 ppm was provided as drinking water to F344 male rats for 25 weeks (group I) or 15 weeks (group II). Twenty weeks following the cessation of the administration, invasive adenocarcinomas were found in the glandular stomach in 100% of 16 rats in group I and 38% of 21 rats in group II. Bone formation occurred within the stroma of carcinoma in 5 rats in group I. No neoplastic lesions developed in the esophagus, forestomach or duodenum of any rat. Thus, MNU in drinking water selectively induces glandular stomach carcinoma in high incidence in these rats.