Infection of 13 month‐old C3H mice with EMC virus or inoculation with the interferon inducer poly(I)poly(C) results in elevated levels of the enzyme 2′,5′ oligo(A) synthetase only in animals with spontaneous tumors (breast cancer or hepatomas). High enzymatic activities are detected in homogenates from liver, spleen, plasma and neoplastic cells of the animals with breast carcinomas and only in the neoplastic liver cells of the animals with hepatomas.