Promotion of preneoplastic changes in liver by coal-derived organic mixtures applied to skin.

The promotion of preneoplastic hepatocyte foci was observed in rats neonatally initiated by a single intraperitoneal injection of benzo[a]pyrene (BP) or diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and exposed, from weaning, to repeated topical applications of coal-derived complex organic mixtures that are carcinogenic for mouse skin. Topical application of these mixtures in the absence of prior initiation did not cause significant induction of hepatocyte foci. These observations indicate the advantage of the neonatal rat hepatocarcinogenesis system for detecting promoting activity in carcinogenic mixtures and identify the existence of systemic tumorigenic risk from cutaneous contact with promoting agents.