Inhibition of growth of 3-methylcholanthrene-induced mouse skin tumor by protease inhibitor [N,N-dimethylcarbamoylmethyl 4-(4-guanidinobenzoyloxy)-phenylacetate] methanesulfate.

3-Methylcholanthrene-induced tumor was challenged with a low molecular synthetic protease inhibitor, [N,N-dimethylcarbamoylmethyl 4-(4-guanidinobenzoyloxy)-phenylacetate] methanesulfate. This drug at a dosage of 10 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg was administered by ip injection to 20 mice each harboring a solitary tumor twice daily for 10 weeks. This protease inhibitor significantly inhibited tumor growth and prolonged the survival time of the tumor-bearing mice (P less than 0.001). The results suggest the involvement of kinin-forming proteases, such as trypsin, plasmin and kallikrein, in the tumor growth.