Evaluation of premalignant and malignant lesions during the induction of mouse melanomas.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the malignant and premalignant lesions that arise in C57BL/6 mice after treatment with 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and croton oil. Tissues from 70 treated mice were evaluated by histological and transplantation techniques, and 17 (24%) were found to have malignant tumors. Eleven of the tumors were diagnosed as malignant melanomas, three as spindle cell sarcomas, and three as squamous cell carcinomas. The incidence of malignant melanomas (15.7%) in this group of mice was similar to that in our initial study on the induction of melanomas with 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)-anthracene and croton oil, in which two of 20 mice developed malignant melanomas. Mice that developed melanomas had been treated with croton oil for an average of 7 mo, and the mean latent period for tumor development was 11 mo. Seven of eight melanomas grew rapidly after transplantation to syngeneic C57BL/6 mice. Pigmented nevi and/or draining lymph nodes from nine of 11 mice with melanomas grew progressively after transplantation to athymic nude mice. Pooled nevi from one mouse with no apparent tumors grew into a histologically malignant melanoma after transplantation to a nude mouse. Nevi from three mice with sarcomas, one mouse with a carcinoma, and 42 tumor-free treated mice failed to grow in nude transplant recipients. Thus, only nevi from mice with either apparent or occult malignant melanomas exhibited progressive growth in nude mice. These results confirm that malignant melanomas can be induced in C57BL/6 mice at a regular, predictable rate and further indicate that this is an excellent system in which to study melanoma induction, progression, and therapy.