4-(carboethoxyphenyl)retinamide and nitrosobenzylmethylamine

Carcinogenic and promoting effects of RRME as isolated from the pickled vegetables in Linxian County, a high incidence area of esophageal cancer, were studied in mice and rats. RRME alone did not cause tumor in the forestomach of mice and esophagus of rats. When the mice were intubated with a single dose of nitroso-sarcosine-ethylester (NSEE), the incidence of the forestomach carcinoma was only 9.5%. However, when the mice were given gastric doses of RRME after one single dose of NSEE, the incidence was increased to 41.0%. In rats, the tumor incidence was 5.3% in nitroso-methylbenzylamine (NMBzA) group, while in NMBzA kRME group, it was 20.7%. In rats intubated with NSEE for 7 times, no carcinoma appeared in esophageal epithelium; while followed by gastric doses of RRME, the incidence of esophagus carcinoma increased up to 63.2%. The experimental results show that RRME has distinct promoting effect on the process of cocarcinogenesis initiated by NSEE and NMBzA in the forestomach of mice and esophagus of rats, but without carcinogenic effect itself. Retinamide (RI) and massive dose of vitamin C showed an obviously inhibitory effect on promoting action of RRME in rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Ascorbic Acid; Dimethylnitrosamine; Esophageal Neoplasms; Female; Mice; Nitroso Compounds; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Stomach Neoplasms; Tretinoin