Aroclor 1254-induced intestinal metaplasia and adenocarcinoma in the glandular stomach of F344 rats.

Ingestion of diets containing Aroclor 1254, a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls, for 2 years led to a dose-related increase in the incidence of focal lesions in the glandular stomachs of male and female F344 rats. The incidence of stomach lesions was 6% in control specimens and in specimens from rats fed a diet containing 25, 50, or 100 ppm Aroclor 1254, the incidences of stomach lesions were 10, 17, and 35%, respectively. The majority of gastric lesions in treated rats were histologically identified as intestinal metaplasia characterized by an architecture resembling that of intestinal crypts and particularly by goblet cells, which stained with Alcian blue and periodic acid-Schiff reagent. Adenocarcinomas were found in six specimens. Most (88%) of the lesions were located in the pyloric region of the glandular stomach. No multiple lesions were observed among 47 control specimens examined; however, nine cases of multiple lesions were observed in 30 lesion-containing specimens from Aroclor 1254-treated rats. Although the exact relationship between gastric intestinal metaplasia and adenocarcinoma remains to be established, they commonly coexist and may share initiating mechanisms.