Effect of selenium on the induction of breast fibroadenomas by adenovirus type 9 and 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced bowel carcinogenesis in rats.

Selenium in its organic and inorganic forms has been shown to inhibit the development of chemically induced, spontaneous and transplanted tumors. The present investigation was performed to study the effect of selenium (4 micrograms per ml of drinking water) on tumorigenesis of adenovirus-type-9-induced breast fibroadenomas and on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced bowel carcinogenesis in WF rats. It was found that identical treatment with Se under identical conditions and with no obvious toxic effects on the rats (1) resulted in inhibition of DMH-induced large-bowel carcinogenesis; (2) facilitated induction of small-bowel cancer by the same carcinogen in the same animals, and (3) greatly facilitated induction of breast fibroadenoma by adenovirus type 9 in the same strain of rats. The effect of Se treatment on DMH-induced large-bowel carcinogenesis confirms previous findings and proves that the opposite effect on fibroadenoma development is not due to differences in e.g. effective dose, animal strains or condition of the animals. It is not yet clear through which mechanisms Se exerts these effects.