Abnormal Copper Accumulation in Non‐cancerous and Cancerous Liver Tissues of LEC Rats Developing Hereditary Hepatitis and Spontaneous Hepatoma

We studied the copper concentrations in the non‐cancerous and cancerous liver tissues of LEC rats with hereditary hepatitis and spontaneous hepatoma by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Copper concentration in the non‐cancerous livers of 29‐month‐old male LEC rats was comparable to that in the livers of LEC rats aged 2, 3 and 8 months whose hepatic copper concentrations were more than 40 times those of normal LEA rats. Copper concentration in spontaneously developed hepatocellular carcinomas of the 29‐month‐old male LEC rats was lower than that in the surrounding non‐cancerous liver tissues, but was still more than 39 times that of 8‐month‐old male LEA rats. These findings suggest that in LEC rats an abnormal copper metabolism may be maintained during the process of hepatic carcinogenesis.