PMID: 18202782Jan 19, 2008Paper

Anti-tumor effects of cimetidine on hepatocellular carcinomas in diethylnitrosamine-treated rats

Oncology Reports
Koichiro FurutaYoshikazu Kinoshita

Abstract

Cimetidine is known to have an anti-tumor effect on certain types of malignancies, though on hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), its effect remains unclear. We studied the anti-tumor effects of cimetidine on chemically-induced HCCs in rats. Four-week-old male Wistar rats (n=105) were divided into 4 groups. Those in groups A and B were administered diethylnitrosamine (DEN) intraperitoneally at 100 mg/kg body weight every week for 6 weeks, during which rats in group A were given tap water and those in group B received cimetidine (100 mg/kg/day) in their drinking water. Rats in groups C and D were administered saline instead of DEN and given tap water with 100 mg/kg/day of cimetidine, respectively. The animals were sacrificed at 7, 12, 22 and 32 weeks after the first administration of drugs and examined. Liver nodules were observed only in groups A and B, with the number of nodules, maximum diameter of the largest nodule, and liver weight significantly lower in group B. Immunohistochemistry findings showed that glutathione S-transferase placental-positive preneoplastic foci were significantly decreased in group B. Cimetidine treatment decreased the number of proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive hepatocytes and tended to enhan...Continue Reading

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