The mechanism by which high-fat diets potentiate pancreatic cancer is not known, but pancreaticotrophic hormones such as cholecystokinin (CCK) may be involved. The effect of CCK receptor blockade on carcinogenesis during the entire promotion period was investigated in Syrian Golden hamsters fed a high- or low-fat diet and treated with N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (3 x 10 mg/kg at weekly intervals). One-half of the hamsters fed a high-fat diet received the CCK-A receptor antagonist devazepide (25 nmol/kg/hr) for the duration of the experiment. At 39 weeks the incidence of pancreatic malignancies was significantly higher in hamsters fed the high-fat diet than in those fed the low-fat diet (p < 0.05). Tumor incidence was not changed by CCK receptor blockade. Potentiation of pancreatic cancer by a high-fat diet in hamsters does not appear to be influenced by endogenous CCK during the tumor promotion period.