An animal model for neuroendocrine lung cancer.

Neuroendocrine lung cancer is among the most common types of lung tumor in man and demonstrates a strong etiological association with cigarette smoking. However, despite numerous efforts, this cancer type has never been induced in animals. This report describes, for the first time, the reproducible induction of pulmonary neuroendocrine cancer in a readily available hamster model. The data provide evidence that deviations from pre-existing normal pulmonary oxygen levels may be an essential factor for the induction of this malignancy. This new model should greatly facilitate studies of the pathophysiology, biochemistry and therapy of neuroendocrine cancer of the lung.