Effect of liver resection on the progression and growth of rhabdomyosarcoma metastases in a rat model.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze the effect of liver resection on the progression of liver metastases in a rhabdomyosarcoma rat model.


METHODS
Liver metastases were induced by intrasplenic injection of S4MH rhabdomyosarcoma cells in WAG/RijCrl rats. In a first experiment, rats were sequentially sacrificed until day 30 following tumor cell inoculation to establish the optimal day to evaluate liver and lung metastases. A second group of rats were hepatectomized or laparotomized 10 d after tumor inoculation, and on day 21 they were sacrificed to determine the size and number of liver and lung metastases. Also, in vitro proliferation rates of tumor cells in the presence of fetal calf serum or hepatectomized or laparotomized rat serum were assessed.


RESULTS
Individual metastases could be optimally determined on day 21. In hepatectomized animals liver metastases reached greater size and their number was significantly increased (28.7 versus 9.3, P < 0.05). Moreover, the number of lung tumor foci in this group nearly doubled that in the control group (99.2 versus 28.5, P < 0.05). In vitro studies showed that hepatectomized rat serum increased cell proliferation when compared with laparotomized rat serum (2.0-fold) or fetal calf serum (1.4-fold).


CONCLUSIONS
This tumor model shows the tumor-enhancing effect derived from hepatic resection, and may be useful to assess preventive therapeutic strategies.
García-Alonso
Ignacio
I
Department of Surgery and Radiology, University of The Basque Country, Leioa, Spain. ignacio.galonso@ehu.es
Palomares
Teodoro
T
Alonso
Ana
A
Echenique-Elizondo
Miguel
M
Caramés
Juan
J
Castro
Begonia
B
Méndez
Jaime
J
D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D006498:Hepatectomy; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000473:pathology*