Investigation of possible oncogenic action of zinc polycarboxylate cement by implantation in mice and hamsters

Powdered, sterilized zinc polycarboxylate was implanted subcutaneously in 56 young hamsters and 54 mice, using equal numbers of each sex, with 24 sham operated hamsters and 26 mice as controls. The hamsters were sacrificed after 15 months and the mice after 12. Implant material was recovered from one of 42 surviving mice and from 16 of 43 surviving hamsters. Benign adenomas of the gut, thyroid, sebaceous glands and ovary were found in 3 experimental mice and in one control. Benign adrenal adenomas were found in 3 experimental hamsters and in one control. One control hamster developed a rhabdomyosarcoma in a limb. One experimental hamster developed a leiomysarcoma in close relation to an implant.