INDUCTION OF MICRONUCLEI AND TOXIC EFFECTS IN EMBRYOS OF PREGNANT RATS TREATED BEFORE IMPLANTATION WITH ANTICANCER DRUGS - CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE, CISPLATINUM, ADRIAMYCIN

To evaluate a possible relationship of maternal exposure to anticancer drugs during the preimplantation period to blastopathies and postimplantation embryotoxicity, CD female rats were injected intraperitoneally on day 3 of pregnancy with 15 and 30 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide (CPA), 2 and 4 mg/kg of Adriamycin (ADR), 3 and 6 mg/kg of cis‐platinum (Cis‐Pt), or with 5 ml/kg of saline. Blastocysts were collected on day 5 of gestation and evaluated for gross morphology, cell number, and micronuclei. Some females were sacrificed on day 21 of pregnancy in order to evaluate postimplantation embryotoxicity. A reduction in cell number/blastocyst was observed only in animals exposed to Cis‐Pt 6 mg/kg; vice versa, a dose‐related increase of micronuclei and of blastocysts with micronuclei was found in all groups treated with the anticancer agents. A significant increase of postimplantation loss was recorded in the groups treated with high doses of Cis‐Pt and ADR, but no clear signs of teratogenicity were observed. Copyright © 1990 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company