title: Teratogenicity of adriamycin and daunomycin in the rat and rabbit.
abstract: The antitumor drugs adriamycin and daunomycin were evaluated for effects on embryonal and fetal development in the rat and rabbit. Doses of adriamycin ranging from 1-2 mg/kg/day or daunomycin ranging from 1-4 mg/kg/day were administered ip to pregnant rats on days 6-15, 6-9, 9-12 or 12-15 of gestation. Both drugs were teratogenic in the rat, particularly when administered on days 6-15 or 6-9 of gestation. Relatively few anomalies resulted from treatment on days 9-12 or 12-15. On a mg/kg basis, adriamycin was the more potent teratogen, producing major anomalies at doses as low as 1.25 mg/kg. Similar anomalies, but at a lower incidence, were produced by daunomycin at dose levels of 4 mg/kg. Characteristic malformations included esophageal and intestinal atresia, tracheo-esophgeal fistula, hypoplasia of the urinary bladder and various cardiovascular anomalies. Neither drug was teratogenic when given iv to rabbits at doses up to and including 0.6 mg/kg/day on days 6-18 of gestation, but a high incidence of abortion occurred in rabbits treated with adriamycin.
mesh_terms: D000014:Abnormalities, Drug-Induced / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D003630:Daunorubicin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D013723:Teratogens
chemical_list: D013723:Teratogens; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003630:Daunorubicin