Experimental pancreatic carcinoma as a model of human pancreatic carcinoma.

Experimental pancreatic carcinoma induced by BHP in hamsters and by DMBA in rats are compared with human pancreatic carcinoma. Tubular adenocarcinoma and papillary adenocarcinoma in human pancreas and hamster pancreas appeared to be similar. However, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and acinar cell carcinoma were not observed in the experimental hamster model. Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and acinar cell carcinoma in human and rat pancreas were similar but experimentally induced papillary adenocarcinoma and cystoadenocarcinoma were not observed in the rat. Mucin producing cells were usually observed in human and experimental pancreatic carcinoma in the hamster but were rarely noted in the rat. These results indicate that experimental pancreatic carcinoma either in rats or hamsters is a good model for the understanding of both the histogenesis and the carcinogenesis of human pancreatic carcinoma.