Experimental adenomas and carcinomas of the large intestine behave as distinct entities: most carcinomas arise de novo in flat mucosa.

Detailed histologic analyses were performed on tumors of the large intestine obtained in 152 dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-treated rats. Of a total 539 glandular neoplasms, 45 were benign; 494 (92%) were locally invasive; of which 222 (41%) were invading the muscularis propria. One-hundred-forty-one tumors were smaller than or equal to 3mm in diameter. Among those, 127 (90%) were invasive. In addition to macroscopic nodules, several appeared after longer latency periods than did serial sections of flat mucosa. The benign polyps usually appeared after longer latency periods than did carcinomas. A review of the literature indicates that in the majority of rat experiments most or all DMH-induced tumors were frequently reported. All these data constitute strong evidence that most experimental adenocarcinomas do arise de novo in flat mucosa, i.e., without a prior adenoma stage. However, most DMH-induced tumors in mice were reported to be adenomas, either alone or coexisting with carcinomas. It is suggested that "de novo arising carcinomas" and adenomatous polyps, which are both inducible by the same carcinogens, and which can coexist in some experimental systems, nonetheless constitute independent and distinct pathologic entities; they can be separated by genetic susceptibility.