Abstract
Abstract
In order to assess the effect of early prolactin suppression on the subsequent development of dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)—induced mammary cancers, the dopamine agonist, CB-154, was chronically administered to female Sprague-Dawley rats from Day 35 to Day 50 of age. DMBA was then administered and tumor development assessed over a 25-week period. It was found that animals treated with CB-154 exhibited decreased tumor incidence, a longer latent period, and fewer tumors/animal, when compared to vehicle controls. However, statistical analysis showed that inhibition of tumor development was significant only with regard to the total number of tumors/tumor-bearing animal; differences in tumor incidence and latency failed to attain statistical significance. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the sensitivity of the mammary gland to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) carcinogenesis is determined by the level of differentiation of the gland at the time of carcinogen administration. Accordingly, perturbations in prolactin secretion patterns, early in life, may accelerate or retard the differentiation of the mammary gland thereby rendering it less susceptible to the carcinogenic effects of PAH.
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