Abstract
The Brown-Pearce rabbit tumor is a transplantable malignant epithelioma carried in this laboratory for more than 100 generations by intratesticular inoculation. It has been used extensively for the study of animal constitution and it has been found possible to alter the susceptibility or resistance of animals to this tumor by various surgical and environmental procedures. About a year and a half ago attempts were made to alter the resistance or susceptibility of animals to inoculation with this tumor by the use of material derived from the tumor itself. The essential feature concerned the preparation of the material for use in conjunction with a regular tumor inoculation.
The first attempt resulted in a marked enhancement. 1 A rabbit which had died 5 to 10 hours previously of the Brown-Pearce tumor was placed for 2 weeks in the ice-box (26-32 °F.) At the termination of this period, a normal saline emulsion of the primary tumor (testicle) was made and 0.3 cc. inoculated into the right testicles of each of a group of normal young adult rabbits. Two weeks later 0.3 cc. of a normal saline emulsion of fresh Brown-Pearce tumor was inoculated into the left testicles of each of the same group .of rabbits and also into each of a control group not previously inoculated.
This first experiment was repeated 7 times, and the only change in the experimental procedure was to remove the tumor from the rabbit, imbed it in paraffin, and preserve the imbedded tumor in the ice-box before using. All experiments were terminated at the end of a 2 months' period after the last inoculation and the results in every experiment confirmed the original observations that a significant enhancement of malignancy had occurred.
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