The induction of oxidative stress in the target tissue has been proposed as a possible mechanism of action for nongenotoxic carcinogens. A variety of nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogens including peroxisome proliferators, organochlorines, barbiturates, and metals have been shown to produce an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the liver. Our group has examined the induction of oxidative stress by the organochlorine mouse hepatic carcinogen, dieldrin. Using a salicylate spin trap assay, dieldrin was found to produce mouse liver-specific increases in ROS in cultured hepatocytes. Increased amounts of hepatic 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and malondialdehyde (MDA) and decreased levels of cellular antioxidants were also seen in cultured mouse hepatocytes following dieldrin treatment. In subchronically dieldrin-treated mice and rats, hepatic vitamin E (Vit E) was decreased correlated with dieldrin dose. While Vit E levels were decreased in both rats and mice, the normal lower levels of Vit E in the mouse resulted in a subsequent oxidative stress, evidenced by an increase in MDA formation in the mouse liver. Dieldrin also produced a dose-dependent increase in DNA synthesis in the mouse (not the rat) following subchronic treatment. These effects seen in both cells in culture and in vivo were species specific, organ specific, and dose dependent which directly correlated with the observed pattern of cancer induction for dieldrin in rodents (mouse liver-specific). These findings support a possible role for the induction of oxidative stress in nongenotoxic hepatic carcinogenesis possibly through modulation of gene expression.