Abstract
Tumor development in response to the subcutaneous implantation of plastics and other inert materials, known as foreign-body (FB) carcinogenesis, was first observed over 40 years ago. It is a classic model of multistage endogenous tumorigenesis that requires one-half or two-thirds of the rodent lifespan for sarcoma or tumor development. However, unlike chemical rodent carcinogenesis, FB carcinogenesis is generally dismissed as a phenomenon unique to the rodent. The early experimental studies demonstrated unequivocally that certain physical characteristics of the implant, such as size, shape, and surface morphology, but not chemical composition, were essential for FB carcinogenesis. Furthermore, a dose/response relationship was found between the implant size and tumor frequency. Materials that will induce FB tumors include films of Dacron®, nylon, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, saran, cellophane, polydimethylsiloxane, and Teflon®. It was concluded that tumor formation was directly related to cellular events during the FB reaction and formation of the fibrotic capsule surrounding the implant.
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Klosterhalfen, B., Klinge, U., Schumpelick, V. (2001). Carcinogenicity of Implantable Biomaterials. In: Bendavid, R., Abrahamson, J., Arregui, M.E., Flament, J.B., Phillips, E.H. (eds) Abdominal Wall Hernias. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8574-3_29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8574-3_29
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