The phenotypic response of rat liver to a carcinogenic protocol involving initiation/selection and promotion with and without phenobarbital (PB) feeding was studied in pubertal and adult male rats. Considering the early presence of preneoplastic nodular areas, it appeared that pubertal rats, initiated at 6–7 weeks, presented a higher susceptibility to the protocol than adult rats initiated at 9–10 weeks. Altered liver phenotype was characterized by: (1) γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase (GGT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities; (2) the expression of two forms of cytochrome P-450: de novo PB-inducible P-450 II B 1,2 and P-450 II C 7 normally expressed in 45-day-old rats and PB-inducible, and (3) the expression of albumin and α-fetoprotein cDNAs. In the absence of PB, the susceptibility of pubertal rat liver to hepatocarcinogenesis was related to a special metabolic phenotype enriched in GGT and GST activities by comparison with the quasi-normal expression of both P-450s. Adult rat liver presented a less altered pattern closer to that of noninitiated rat liver. During PB promotion, the loss of PB inducibility of P-450 II C 7 in pubertal rat liver suggested that the hormonal status of the animals could interact with initiation to modulate specific gene expression. The late phase of PB promotion revealed the loss of highly differentiated functions (P-450s, albumin), whereas enzymatic markers associated with preneoplastic foci showed a persistent high expression.