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The Effects of Adrenalectomy and Pyridoxine Deficiency on the Growth of 3,4,9,10-Dibenzpyrene-induced Tumors

( Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, New York State Department of Health, Buffalo, New York)

Adrenalectomy of Swiss mice bearing small tumors induced by 3,4,9,10-dibenzpyrene resulted in the complete regression of 43 per cent of the tumors. Other tumors (14 per cent) decreased in diameter by more than 50 per cent but did not completely regress. Most of the tumors resumed growth between the 6th and the 10th week following the operation. However, some (14 per cent) of the mice remained free of tumor for more than 12 weeks. Daily injections of deoxycorticosterone (150 mg/kg) increased the rate of growth of these induced tumors in adrenalectomized mice.

When mice with small tumors were fed a pyridoxine-free purified diet many of the tumors stopped growing or even decreased in size between the 3d and 7th weeks after the change in diet. Later, all the tumors resumed growth and killed the hosts. The tumors of the control mice that received the complete purified diet increased in size throughout the experiment. This effect of the deficiency on the tumor was not the result of caloric restriction, since there was no significant difference in weight gain between the control and the deficient groups.

The responses of the dibenzpyrene-induced tumors to adrenalectomy and pyridoxine deficiency are similar to those previously reported for Sarcoma 180, suggesting that similar factors limit the growth of both of these tumors. It is not known at this time whether the impaired growth is due to altered metabolism of the tumor or to a host response to the tumor.

Received 2/15/63.