Further evidence on the homogeneity of the resistance to the implantation of malignant new growths / by E.F. Bashford and B.R.G. Russell.

  • Bashford, E. F. (Ernest Francis), 1873-
Date:
[1904?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Further evidence on the homogeneity of the resistance to the implantation of malignant new growths / by E.F. Bashford and B.R.G. Russell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/14 page 301
    is used to illustrate the facts, since they agree for all the strains that have been tested, whether slowly or rapidly growing. Some tumour-strains illus¬ trate a larger number of the sum total phenomena than others. Thus, strain “ 199 ” is very suitable for studying the relations existing between a growing tumour and the host bearing it. This tumour, an adeno-carcinoma of the mamma, has now been propagated for 15 months, and gives from 70 to 100 per cent, of tumours when inoculated into a fresh batch of mice. The inoculated tumour-cells proliferate very rapidly, so that, when the strain is in a positive phase of growth, from a dose of 0’05 gramme, tumours weighing about 1*5 grammes may be obtained after 10 days, in all the mice inoculated. The subsequent behaviour of the individual tumours of the same series is very variable ; about a third of them will continue to grow rapidly during the next two to three weeks ; another third will show a very much slower speed of growth for two to four weeks, and then resume a speed of growth some¬ what slower than the original speed of proliferation; the remaining tumours will be gradually absorbed and disappear after 3 to 5 weeks. A single series of daughter tumours of this strain “ 199 ” illustrates the extremes of behaviour presented by other tumours, viz., those growing progressively and rapidly in all animals inoculated, and those exhibiting transitory proliferation only, even when implantation is successful in 100 per cent, of the animals inoculated. The parts played respectively by active resistance induced con¬ comitantly with the development of the tumours, and by the qualities of the tumour-cells themselves in determining the different behaviour of different tumours have already been fully discussed (4, 5). Advantage may be taken of the behaviour of tumour “ 199 ” to obtain a concise survey of the nature of the resistance or immunity against the re-inoculation of cancer in animals already bearing tumours. Series of mice, usually 20 in number, bearing growths 10 days old of tumour “ 199 ” in the right axilla, have been re-inoculated in the left axilla with another tumour either of the same strain or of another strain. Briefly, the result has been that the re-inoculation has failed to give rise to a tumour except in the cases where the tumour primarily inoculated has continued to grow rapidly. Where the primarily inoculated tumours have slowed up in their speed of proliferation, or where they have begun to diminish in size, the result of the re-inoculation has been that no tumours developed. In other words, the better the growth of the primary inoculation, the more favourable are the chances for a tumour developing from the second inoculation. This result confirms those previously recorded from this laboratory (5). The possibility can be excluded of the degree of hindrance to secondary inocula¬ tion being in direct proportion to the rate of growth of the primary tumour.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3