Pulmonary toxicity of cyclophosphamide: a 1-year study.

The development of cyclophosphamide-induced pulmonary lesions over a 1-year period was studied in mice. Male BALB/c mice received a single intraperitoneal injection of 100 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide. Within 3 weeks there were scattered foci of intraalveolar foamy macrophages. With time, these foci increased in size and, 1 year later, occupied large areas in all lung lobes. There was also diffuse interstitial fibrosis. Chemical determination done 3, 12, 24, and 52 weeks after cyclophosphamide showed that lungs of animals treated with cyclophosphamide had significantly more hydroxyproline per lung than controls. One year after cyclophosphamide pressure-volume curves measured in vivo were shifted down and to the right and total lung volumes were decreased. A single injection of cyclophosphamide produced an irreversible and progressive pulmonary lesion.