Abstract
Summary
Experiments are reported in which the growth of an ascites tumor in mice has been followed by estimating the volume of ascites by dye dilution and the concentration of tumor cells from total and differential cell counts. The methods afford a reasonably quantitative picture of the growth pattern, which, after inoculation of 20 × 106 Krebs-2 ascites tumor cells, consists of an initial log phase of several days duration followed by a period of leveling to an asymptote of about 109 cells. The period of apparent less rapid growth parallels the moribund condition of the animals. The number of tumor cells doubles in 19 to 20 hours during the log phase. The mitotic index is around 2.3%, which is suggestive of a mitotic time of 25 to 30 minutes. It is not possible from these experiments to determine the extent, if any, of a lag or delay period in growth immediately after tumor inoculation. The volume of ascites and body weight increase progressively during the course of tumor development. However, the relationships between these parameters and the tumor cell population apparently depend on a number of factors. The results are discussed in connection with related observations on the growth characteristics of ascites tumors.
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