[An experimental study of the possibilities of using pentoxifylline for the prevention of cancer at different sites].

Three models of cancerogenesis were used to test the anti-cancerogenic effects of pentoxiphylline. In female rats, breast adenocarcinoma was induced by intramammary injections of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) or colonic and rectal adenocarcinomas by intrarectal instillations of MNU. In female mice, squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix uteri and vagina were induced by intravaginal applications of 7,12-dimethyl-benz(a) anthracene (DMBA). Pentoxifylline was given with drinking water at a concentration of 500 mg/l long at the stage of carcinogenesis promotion/progression. Pentoxifylline exerted a strong inhibitory effect on the development of mammary tumors and a moderate inhibitory effect on the development of colonic and rectal tumors induced by MNU in rats. However, the drug did not affect the development of cervical and vaginal tumors caused by DMBA in mice.