Carcinogenic Activity of Preparations Rich in Cholesterol

Abstract

An earlier report from this Institute¹ recorded that carcinogens had been detected in fractions from human tissues (liver, lung, kidney and muscle) obtained from cancerous and non-cancerous subjects. The activity was concentrated in the cholesterol-rich (c. 85 per cent) fraction of the unsaponifiable part of the tissue, and it was suggested (loc. cit., p. 666) that cholesterol itself may not be inert in the carcinogenic process. The further data now available and tabulated below (Table 1) are not incompatible with the hypothesis that cholesterol itself may be carcinogenic, although the alternative view that preparations rich in cholesterol may contain small quantities of an unknown but potent carcinogen cannot yet be excluded; very pure cholesterol prepared chromato-graphically by Dr. Shoppee is now under test in this Institute.