Augmentation of chemically induced pancreatic and bronchial cancers by epidermal growth factor

Abstract

The incidence of Syrian golden hamsters with pancreatic cancer induced by subcutaneous injections of N-nitroso-bis(2-oxopropyl)amine for 19 weeks (each 10 mg/kg) increased from 44% to 75% (p = 0·016) when epidermal growth factor was also administered from week 5 through week 8 (5 μg every three days for 10 injections). Epidermal growth factor increased pancreatic weight and body weight. The incidence of animals with bronchial cancer doubled. Epidermal growth factor could be a cocarcinogen as a result of its mitogenic activity.