The reversibility of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)-induced hamster forestomach hyperplasia was examined histopathologically. Groups of 10-15 male Syrian golden hamsters were treated with 2% BHA, for 12, 24 or 48 weeks and in each case then placed on basal diet until termination of the experiment at week 72, or treated with 2% BHA continuously for 72 weeks. Although sequential sampling revealed that BHA-induced hyperplasia reverted after cessation of antioxidant treatment, dysplastic lesions such as squamous cell dysplasia and basal cell dysplasia persisted and tended to increase with time on BHA. Basal cell dysplasia was observed in some hamsters later than squamous cell dysplasia, i.e. those treated with BHA for 24 weeks or more and killed up to 48 weeks later. Whereas the increase in labeling index evident in areas of hyperplasia during treatment returned to control level after cessation, this was not the case for the dysplastic lesions which continued to demonstrate elevated proliferation. The results thus suggest that basal cell dysplasia, including regions of squamous cell dysplasia, may be of particular importance as a precursor pre-neoplastic lesion.