title: Variability and discontinuity of the pathognomonic systemic effects caused by Walker 256 tumor progression in rats.
abstract: Cancer pathognomonic systemic effects (PSE) have high individual variability. For this reason present data were collected daily and synchronized considering four main points: inoculation day, onset of PSE, aggravation and death. The subclinical period free of PSE ranged between 15.7 +/- 2.2 days, the clinical period was less variable, 8.9 +/- 0.5 days, divided in a moderate and a grave phase of nearly the same length. PSE involved disturbances of fundamental homeostatic regulations: appetite, sodium, water, immune, etc. PSE triggering correlated highly with survival (r2 = 0.95, P < 0.01), but poorly with primary tumor growth, and it was anticipated by metastases from 20.5 +/- 2.6 to 10.6 +/- 1.1 days (P < 0.01). After multifocal simultaneous inoculations, PSE triggering was anticipated to 4.2 +/- 0.2 days (marked reduction of individual variability), in the presence of small total-tumor masses, absence of macroscopic metastases, and without changes in the following clinical period features. PSE triggering seems to be a major prognostic indicator probably related to multifocal tumor growth.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Pesquisas Bioquimicas, Centro de Atencao Integral a Saude da Mulher, Campinas, Brasil.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rettori
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Vieira-Matos
authors.forename: Q S
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Tahin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002279:Carcinoma 256, Walker / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000556:secondary; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar