Oral leukoplakia and costochondral hyperplasia induced by diethylnitrosamine in hamsters exposed to cigarette smoke with or without dietary vitamin C.

Male Syrian golden hamsters receiving 12 weekly subcutaneous injections of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) were subjected to cigarette smoke-inhalation and fed a diet or without 1% vitamin C supplement for a period of 58 weeks. Another group was a sham-smoked control and was not fed vitamin C. Tissues of the oral cavity and costal cartilage were examined by light and/or scanning electron microscopy. Oral leukoplakia and costochondral hyperplasia occurred with high frequency in all groups treated with DEN. Leukoplakic lesions were found in the palate, tongue, and pharynx; the early change was focal erosion with mild epithelial hyperplasia and inflammatory cell infiltration. Advanced lesions had marked mucosal thickening due to acanthosis, parakeratosis, hyperkeratosis, and submucosal infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells. Precancerous lesions were noted in tongue and pharynx. Scanning electron microscopy of tongues revealed destruction of filiform papillae. The incidence of leukoplakic lesions were higher in smoke-exposed hamsters than in controls, but the incidence in vitamin C-supplemented hamsters was low when compared with the smoke-exposed hamsters without vitamin C. Costochondral hyperplasia was initiated by thickening of the perichondrium followed by proliferation of chondrocytes. Costochondral hyperplasia appeared earlier, and the incidence was higher in the vitamin C-supplemented hamsters. It could not be determined whether costochondral hyperplasia was the primary lesion induced by DEN or secondary change.