Spontaneous tumors and common diseases in two colonies of Syrian hamsters. I. Incidence and sites.
Syrian hamsters from two colonies [Eppley colony (EC); Hannover colony (HC)] were examined for spontaneous neoplastic and noneoplastic diseases. Significant differences were found in tumor incidence (30%, EC' 42%, HC), occurrence of malignant neoplasms (15%, EC; 32%, HC), appearance of multiple primary tumors in different organs (42%, EC; 30%, HC), average survival rates of tumor-bearing animals, organ distribution and histologic types, and average survival rates of all animals. The frequencies of nonneoplastic diseases also varied between the two colonies. The findings indicated a need for precise histologic evaluation to generate information for comparative purposes regarding the use of hamsters in experimental pathology and carcinogenesis studies.
D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors