Tumor-Promoting Properties of Anthralin (1,8,9-Anthratriol)

Summary

Anthralin, at concentrations as low as 0.01 percent, produced tumors in ICR Swiss mice pre treated with a single application of 125 µg of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA). Daily application of a 0.033 percent solution produced tumors in 17 of 30 Swiss mice and in 6 of 13 C57/St mice, provided the initiating dose of DMBA was used. DMBA alone was ineffective at the dose used, whereas anthralin alone gave rise to a single tumor in one of 69 treated mice. The tumor-promoting effects of anthralin are of interest because this agent has been used in dermatological practice, often after earlier treatment with coal tar. Anthralin shows promise as a laboratory tool for the study cocarcinogenesis because of its potency in dilute solutions.