Carcinogenic Activity of Alkylating Agents2

Abstract

Administered by 1 or more routes into female ICR/Ha Swiss mice, 17 direct-acting alkylating agents and related compounds were tested for carcinogenic activity. The routes of administration were skin, 2-stage tumorigenesis on skin, subcutaneous (sc) injection, and intraperitoneal (ip) injection. Dimethylcarbamyl chloride, a potent carcinogen to skin, induced a high incidence of sarcom3S at the injection site after sc or ip injection. Four of the other 15 compounds (ethyl bromoacetate, 2,3- dichloro-p-dioxane, glycol sulfate, and diethy-β,γ-epoxypropylphosphonate) tested through sc injection induced significant incidences (P< 0.01) of sarcomas at the injection site. Whereas sarcomas were induced by most compounds tested by sc injection, only 2 of these, dimethylcarbamyl chloride and 1,2,4,5,9,10-triepoxydecane, also induced carcinomas upon application to skin.