Electron microscopic studies of the heart and light microscopic studies of the skin after treatment of golden hamsters with adriamycin, detorubicin, AD-32, and aclacinomycin.

Golden hamsters received Adriamycin (ADR), detorubicin (DTR), AD-32, or aclacinomycin (ACM) three times weekly at doses extrapolated from optimal doses in L1210 leukemia. Minimal early lesions of the myocardium were detected by electron microscopy in ACM-treated animals. These lesions were aggravated after several weeks of treatment but remained reversible. Lesions in AD-32-treated hamsters were slightly more marked than those seen in ACM-treated animals but were much less severe than those observed in ADR- or DTR-treated animals. Similarly, light microscopy revealed pathologic changes in the skin following ADR or DTR administration. These changes were not seen in animals receiving AD-32 or ACM.