The effect of 1000 ppm potassium perchlorate (KClO4), 1000 ppm potassium iodide (KI) or 1000 ppm propylthiouracil (PTU) in the diet on the development of thyroid tumors was studied histologically and biochemically in Wistar rats given a single ip injection of 280 mg of N-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)nitrosamine (DHPN) per 100 g body weight. Basal diet containing 100 ppm KClO4, 1000 ppm KI or 1000 ppm PTU was given for 19 weeks from week 2 to week 20. The incidence of thyroid adenomas at the end of week 20 of the experiment was 100% (20/20) in rats treated with DHPN followed by KClO4, 85% (17/20) in rats given DHPN followed by KI, 95% (19/20) in rats given DHPN followed by PTU, and 5% (1/20) in rats given DHPN alone. The incidence of thyroid cancers was 100% (20/20) in rats treated with DHPN followed by KClO4, 65% (13/20) in rats treated with DHPN followed by KI and 0% (0/20) in rats treated with DHPN followed by or not followed by PTU. Rats given KClO4, KI or PTU alone and untreated rats had no thyroid tumors. The mean values of TSH in serum were 2.94 +/- 0.79 ng/ml in rats treated with DHPN followed by KClO4, 9.40 +/- 16.0 ng/ml in rats treated with DHPN followed by KI and 60.94 +/- 20.60 ng/ml in rats treated with DHPN followed by PTU. It was confirmed that (1) KClO4, PTU and KI promote the development of thyroid tumor in rats treated with DHPN, (2) the promoting effect of KClO4 or KI is stronger than that of PTU and (3) the value of TSH in serum is not parallel to the promoting effect on the development of thyroid tumor.