Chemopreventive activity of tamoxifen, N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide, and the vitamin D analogue Ro24-5531 for androgen-promoted carcinomas of the rat seminal vesicle and prostate.

We evaluated the ability of dietary N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide; 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-16-ene-23-yne-26,27-hexafluorocholecalcifero l (Ro24-5531); and tamoxifen to inhibit the development of androgen-promoted carcinomas of the accessory sex organs of male Lobund-Wistar rats. Invasive carcinomas of the seminal vesicle (SV) and anterior prostate (AP) were induced in Lobund-Wistar rats with three different combinations of initiator [N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU)] and promoter [testosterone propionate (TP)]: (a) high-dose NMU (30 mg/kg) + high-dose TP (20 mg via implant every 2 months); (b) high-dose NMU + low-dose TP (10 mg implanted every 2 months); or (c) low-dose NMU (15 mg/kg) + low-dose TP. During the period of TP administration, rats were fed a diet supplemented with either N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (1 or 2 mmol/kg diet), Ro24-5531 (1.25 or 2.5 nmol/kg diet), tamoxifen (0.5 or 5 mg/kg diet), or vehicle alone. After sacrifice at 8.5 or 11 months, the prostate-seminal vesicle complex from each rat was processed in toto and histologically staged as to the extent of tumor involvement. In animals given low-dose TP, all three agents were significantly effective at reducing the incidence of invasive carcinomas of the SV and, to a lesser degree, the AP. Of the three agents, tamoxifen given in high dose (5 mg/kg) had the strongest activity, reducing the occurrence of invasive SV carcinomas from 72-83% in controls to 6% (P = 0.0001) and the occurrence of invasive AP carcinomas from 50-72% to 18-22% (P < 0.05).

1 alpha,25-Dihydroxy-16-ene-23-yne-26,27-hexafluorocholecalciferol (Ro24-5531), a new deltanoid (vitamin D analogue) for prevention of breast cancer in the rat.

We have used the vitamin D analogue, 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-16-ene-23-yne-26,27-hexafluorocholecalcifero l (Ro24-5531), for inhibition of mammary carcinogenesis induced by N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU) in Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were first treated with a single dose of either 15 or 50 mg/kg body weight NMU and then fed Ro24-5531 (2.5 or 1.25 nmol/kg of diet) for 5-7 months. Ro24-5531 significantly extended tumor latency and lessened tumor incidence as well as tumor number in rats treated with the lower dose of NMU. In rats treated with the higher dose of NMU, Ro24-5531 was fed in combination with tamoxifen; in these experiments, Ro24-5531 significantly enhanced the ability of tamoxifen to reduce total tumor burden, as well as to increase the probability that an animal would be tumor free at the end of the experiment. In vitro, Ro24-5531 was 10-100 times more potent than 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 for inhibition of proliferation of human breast cancer cell lines as well as primary cultures of cells from 2 patients with acute myelogenous leukemia. When fed chronically, Ro24-5531 did not elevate serum calcium in the present studies. We propose the new term, "deltanoids," for the set of molecules composed of vitamin D and its synthetic analogues, in a manner similar to the naming of "retinoids" for the corresponding set of molecules related to vitamin A.

Suppression of in vivo clearance of N-nitrosodimethylamine in mice by cotreatment with ethanol.

Oral cotreatment of mice with ethanol results in increased tumors in extrahepatic organs caused by some nitrosamines. This action, attributed in part to inhibition of hepatic first-pass carcinogen metabolism by ethanol, has possible relevance to the enhancing effect of alcoholic beverage consumption on human cancer risk. In this study, the effects of ethanol on clearance of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were quantified in Swiss female and strain A male mice. In Swiss mice, a 1.6 g/kg ig ethanol dose preceding 1 or 5 mg/kg iv NDMA resulted in 20- to 30-fold increases in area-under-the-blood-concentration-vs.-time curves, mean residence times, and clearance half-times, and similar decreases in clearance. For a 0.5 mg/kg ig NDMA dose, the pharmacokinetic parameters were altered 30-fold and 450-fold by simultaneous ethanol doses of 0.08 and 0.8 g/kg, respectively. With 5 mg NDMA/kg ig, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 g/kg ethanol resulted in 6-, 10-, and 20-fold changes in clearance parameters. Comparison of the data with results obtained previously with patas monkeys indicated comparable effects of ethanol on tissue exposure to NDMA in the two species, confirming potential human applicability. In experiments with strain A mice, NDMA concentrations were also monitored in lung and liver. NDMA amounts in lung paralleled those in blood, and were more than sufficient to account for the previously reported increases in DNA adducts and tumors in lungs of similarly treated strain A mice.

Enhancement of tumorigenesis by N-nitrosodiethylamine, N-nitrosopyrrolidine and N6-(methylnitroso)-adenosine by ethanol.

Inclusion of 10% ethanol with 6.8 ppm N-nitrosodiethylamine in the drinking water of strain A male mice resulted in a 4-fold enhancement of multiplicity of lung tumors and a 16-fold increase in incidence of fore-stomach tumors, compared with carcinogen alone. Given with 40 ppm N-nitrosopyrrolidine, ethanol caused a 5.5-fold increase in lung tumor multiplicity. The inclusion of 15% ethanol with N6-(methylnitroso)adenosine, given orally to Swiss female mice, led to reduced body weights and shortened survival time related to hemangiosarcoma occurrence or increased incidence of thymic lymphoma, depending on dose of carcinogen. The data provide additional support for the proposal that co-administered ethanol increases the tumorigenicity of nitrosamines by blocking hepatic first-pass clearance.

Characterization of ethanol's enhancement of tumorigenesis by N-nitrosodimethylamine in mice.

The concentration-, time- and route-dependent effects of ethanol co-administration on tumorigenesis by N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were characterized in strain A male mice. With drinking-water administration, 1% ethanol was as effective as 5 or 10% in effecting a 4-fold enhancement of lung tumorigenesis by 5 p.p.m. NDMA. In a study of cumulative effects over time, 10% ethanol given with 1 p.p.m. NDMA resulted in a progressive increase in lung tumors from 16 to 72 weeks. In addition, at 72 weeks, the ethanol co-treatment resulted in a significant increase in kidney adenomas and possibly in vascular tumors of liver. A single i.g. dose of 5 mg/kg NDMA was significantly tumorigenic for lung, and the effect was dose-dependently increased by inclusion of ethanol, for up to a 9-fold enhancement with 20% ethanol. When 10% ethanol was given in the drinking water while NDMA was administered as 20 1 mg/kg doses by other routes--i.g., i.p., s.c. or i.v.--the ethanol treatment was without effect on lung tumor numbers. Collectively, the results provide strong support for inhibition of hepatic first-pass clearance of NDMA by cytochrome P450 2E1 as the mechanism of ethanol's effect, and suggest that several other possible mechanisms are unlikely. They also illustrate that a moderate dose of ethanol cumulatively increases tumor risk from a low dose of NDMA given over most of the lifetime of the animal.