Abstract
In the normal animal lymphoid tissues have been found to be more susceptible than other tissues to the action of colchicine. 1 2 Waves of mitoses and pyknoses are found in the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes and Peyer's patches following its administration in proper doses (Dustin's “caryoclasic shock”). The action of colchicine and certain other nuclear poisons is similar to that of X and gamma radiations, which led Dustin to refer to their effect as “radio-mimetic”. It thus seemed quite logical to test the action of this drug on a lymphoid tumor since (1) normal lymphoid tissue is so extremely sensitive to caryoclasic phenomena and (2) since other investigators were able to obtain regression of other types of tumors using this alkaloid. 3 4 5 6 7
Mice of the C3H strain were used in this investigation. After a line of leukemia had been carried for 3 transplant generations experiments with colchicine were begun.§ When a piece of lcukemic lymphoid tissue was implanted in the right axilla a large local growth formed previous to the appearance of systemic leukemia. The systemic disease did not appear until after 23 days'growth of the transplanted tumor. By 14 days the growth was the size of a kidney bean. If, at this time, 1/40 mg of colchicine in distilled water was administered subcutaneously every third day at a site far removed from the tumor the local growth practically disappeared. Average survival time of controls after transplantation was 31.5 days as compared with 50.5 days survival in treated animals (see Table I—14 test animals and 13 controls).∗∗ Life was significantly prolonged in 7 of the 14 treated mice (6 out of 8 where the drug was administered in 0.1 cc rather than 0.5 cc distilled water-see table).
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