Tumours of the lower respiratory tract

In attempts to find appropriate animal models for human lung cancer, many experimental studies have used rats or mice treated with chemicals, viruses or radiation. Since the successful induction of tumours in the respiratory system of the Syrian golden hamster, however, this species has also been used for lung carcinogenesis research. Recent work has been focused mainly on two topics. One is the development of proliferative foci of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells in hamsters treated with nitrosamines or nitroquinoline oxide and exposed to hyperoxic atmospheres. The other topic relates to detailed pathogenetic studies of bronchiolo-alveolar carcinomas induced by N-nitrosomethyl-n-heptylamine.