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;fM %' - ,~. Coaanents on article by Francis J. C. Roe entitled, "Role of 3,4-benz '. e , . . . •.Ji~.3., ~. .. . . .. . . . . . .. pyrenein caxcinogenesis by tobacco smoke condensate." Nattre, June 16, , ,, ., . . , .. f •- r .. . , . _. - _, ,.. ., _, 1962, pages 1089-1090, quoted in Current Digest, Vol. VII, No. 8, page 15, August 1962 ; , . , , . . . . ,'On the basis of the data presented in the Current Digest, there is ~ .~ : ~ ;;.~ : ~,; ~ • , , . ~. , ~ , , , . , ~ , . 6 ; ~*~- • reason to question the clear-cut nature of these results. 'For one thing, `rt ,~C;.i~.< r..A,.. . - ~,.t.. _ . , .. r;. ;'r 'i' p;a •.'i: ..`{,•.:. a rather high mortality was experienced since some of the groups only had .~ 14 survivors out of 40 ani,,ai ~. The author apparently fastens his interest in comparing groups four and five and the conclusion that benzpyrene mixed with smoke condensate is far more carcinogenic than the same concen- tration of benzpyrene in acetone. The author apparently is not concerned by the fact that between groups one and three, there was a ten times increase in the amount of benzpyrene used but essentially no difference in the number of mali gnex t tumors produced. No control animals are mentioned in the review. It would appear that the groups of surviving animals were too small to readily permit any conclusions to be drawn. The results described here cla{m a cocarcinogenic effect of the smoke I believe differ from those reported several years ago by Kotin, Falk and colleagues. On page six of the exerpts df the Thirty-ninth Annual. Report of the 0 British E~t ire Ca e Ca i fo 1 61 p nc r mpa gn r 9 , which accompanied Current Digest, C11 vol. VII, No. 8, August 1962, Roe describes these experiments at an earlier stage and says that his results are consistent with those of X Gwynn and Sa]aman, 1956, and Gellhorn, 1958. He adds that there was no ~%] evidence for inhibition of carcinogenic effect of benzpyrene by the phenan-

threne contained in smoke condensate as was suggested in last year's Si .a . .. ~ , ^ . ..,._ . . , ._ ;,. . .. . and Huh and McCarter (1960). Roe, therefore, appears to be changing , , . ,. . . . , .. . _ . . :. , report (Roe, 1960) on the basis of the work of Bock and Burnham (1960) ~ :• _ ; , . . . :.... .. ... :., . ...i . . - . . .. ti:y_ . . . ., ' . . . Y . . . his opinion on the interpretation of the results of the same experiment. .• The work of Peacock and Spence, reported on pe.ge 11 of the same - .. , , , - : :.; • . . ..,, excerpts are interpreted as shaving a weak cocarcinogenic action of - .. - .,• , _ . „ ... .., ,.. .~... smoke extract with 3,4-benzopyrene. . 3' rs ~ -'° ~ ' ~ 7 q •'7 , .i . ~ . :~' • _ tr ~'~ ~+ { ~ ' r -,. b K. Attachment: Copy of Abstract from VII International Cancer Congress, 1962, Moscow ,,. . A2 s., .ry «K s.

-~. = . . _ t 1962 es C l C i an ongr o cer s, na 'F~tOv1: Abstracts, or Papers, VII Tnterna and their fractions. In comparative tests dose-response curves of smoke condensates, obtained by activity but were not, negative. In contrast to the aromatics their dose-response curves were not linear. Similar results were obtained with subfractions of the aromatics. The effect of one group was depending on the dose, the others were less active and independent of the dose. The results suggest the presence of 2 different mechanisms of sebaceous gland suppression by smoke condensate, the incoherence of which will . of the whole tar. The remaining fractions showed a comparatively weaker suppressor ;. portion (approx. 8011i0). - The sebaceous glan& suppression effect of the aromatics came up to the activity and phenolic fraction (approx. 10%), .3. basic portion (approx. 5%) and 4. neutral by a method develop by Grimmer into 1. polynuclear aromatics (approx. 5%), 2. acidic different degrees of aging were prepared and correlated with the content of benzo- [aJ pyrene of the different test materials. The condensates were chemically fractionated different condensation methods, in different solvants, of different concentrations and be clarified in model tests. OLE OF 3,4-BENZOPYRENE IN EXPERIMENTAL TOBACCO CARCINOGENESIS 1. C O H E N and I. G. B U~ R G O N . GREAT BRITAIN, LONDON F. J.C. R.oE, M. H. SALAMON, It has: previously been postulated that the carciriogenic effect of tobacco smoke condensates is due to initiation by traces of carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons (present in the neutral fraction), and promotion by constituents of the phenolic fraction. In the same paper it was pointed out that the concentration of 3,4-benzopyrene in tobacco smoke condensates was between 1/50th and 1/100th of that necessary to produce the tumour yields normally obtained when mice are painted repeatedly with sucti conaensates. An experiment will be described in which the carcinogenic effects of smoke •" The result of this experiment suggests that benzopyrene plays only a minor rble condensates enriched X5, X25, and X 125 respectively with~ 3,4-benzopyrene are com- pared with that, of unadulterated smoke condensate, and with that of a concentration of 3,4-benzopyrene in acetone equivalent to the level in 125-fold enriched condensate. in carcinogenesis by cigarette smoke. , DETERMINATION OF 3, 4-BENZOPYRENE IN ATMOS- . PHERE OF PRAGUE / paper (by Wieland and Kracht) for determination of 3.4-benzopyrene is discussed~ The air pollution of Prague was followed for two years. The maximal concentra- tions of 3,4-benzopyrene were found in housing districts of Prague during winter season (10-17 µg/100m3). In summer the air in housing districts of Prague was of low concen- tration (1.3-2.8;u g/100m4): The industrial districts of Prague were found of low air concentration bothlin winter and summer seasons (1-2 µg/100m3). . The advantage of chromatography of polycyclic hydrocarbons on the acetylated V. S K R A M O V S K Y CZECHOSLOVAKIA, PRAGUE CARCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES IN THE AIR OF CITIES' AND MEASURES OF PROPHYLAXIS B. P. G U'R 1 N O V USSR, MOSCOW Amongst carcinogenic carbohydrates 3,4-benzpyrene is one of the most effective agents and that was the reason that we confined our investigation to detecting this substance alone in atmospheric pollutions. In the cities of the Soviet Union 3,4-benzpyrene is detected in the 10th fractions of "V" per one hundred of cubic metres of air. It is found in considerably greater quantities in the cities and towns abroad~