Cellulose dietary bulk and azoxymethane-induced intestinal cancer
Ward, J.M.; Yamamoto, R.S.; Weisburger, J.H.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute 51(2): 713-715
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0027-8874 PMID: 4765385 Document Number: 69500
Male Fischer rats 6 weeks old were fed on a low-residue semisynthetic diet or the same diet with 20 and 40% of its bulk as ground cellulose. All were given subcutaneous injections of the digestive tract carcinogen azoxymethane 14.8 mg/kg bodyweight once a week for 10 weeks and were killed after an additional 16 weeks. Daily food intake and weight of faeces were directly proportional to the inert cellulose content of the diet. Most rats inoculated with the carcinogen had tumours in the intestinal tract but the number of tumours in the small intestine was less than the average of all intestinal tumours for each rat; the incidence, which was highest on the semisynthetic diet, decreased progressively as bulk in the diet increased. Each rat had slightly more tumours in the colon when the diet contained 20% cellulose.