Study of the promoting effect of sodium chloride on gastric carcinogenesis by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in inbred Wistar rats.

The effect of sodium chloride on the promotion stage of gastric carcinogenesis by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) was studied in male inbred Wistar rats. Rats in group I were given MNNG at a concentration of 50 micrograms/ml in their drinking water for 12 weeks and then 1 ml of saturated NaCl solution intragastrically once a week until experimental week 65. Rats in group II were given MNNG for 12 weeks and then 1 ml of distilled water intragastrically once a week until week 65. Rats in group III were not treated for the first 12 weeks and were then given 1 ml of saturated NaCl solution intragastrically once a week until week 65. The incidence of adenomatous hyperplasias in the glandular stomach was significantly higher in group I than in group II, but the incidences of gastric adenocarcinomas and adenomas in groups I and II were not significantly different. No neoplastic or preneoplastic changes were observed in the stomach in group III.