title: Does sarcoma occur in man after intramuscular iron?
abstract: Several factors influence the induction of sarcomas at the site of iron carbohydrate complex injection in high dosage, in animals. 1. Species specificity: tumours have been induced in rats, mice and hamsters but not in guinea pigs or dogs; 2. dose-response: a threshold dose may be defined and the yield of tumours increases with the dose; 3. the amount of residual iron at the injection site: the effect is a local oncogenesis; 4. the latent period relative to life span in the species: the probable latent period in man has been estimated to be 15-20 years. Since iron-dextran was introduced 22 years ago, nine malignancies in man allegedly related to iron-complex injection have been described in five reports during the period 1960-1977. A critical review of the information available on these cases suggests that in one case only is the data sufficiencyl strong to support the probability of iron-dextran induced sarcoma in man. Soft tissue tumours of the buttock are not rare: on the basis of this single case a causal relationship in man cannot yet be made.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002273:Carcinogens; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007505:Iron-Dextran Complex / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000139:chemically induced*; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D002273:Carcinogens; D007505:Iron-Dextran Complex