Microcirculation of secondary bone tumors in vivo: the impact of minor surgery at a distal site.
Microcirculatory properties of tumors play a pivotal role in tumor progression and inefficacy of therapies. It has been hypothesized that surgical interventions result in an accelerated tumor growth by increasing the level of pro-angiogenic cytokines with subsequent amplification of tumor angiogenesis. To characterize the microvascular properties of secondary bone tumors in vivo and determine the impact of minor surgery on the microcirculation, we performed intravital microscopy over 25 days using a xenograft model of breast cancer tumor growth (MCF-7) in bone. After engraftment of tumors the mice were treated with a mastectomy versus no surgery. Tumor growth was accompanied by angiogenic sprouting and decreased vascular diameters while blood flow rate and tumor perfusion remained constant. Mastectomy initially led to a significant reduction of functional vascular density, increased vascular diameter, and decreased blood flow velocities. However, neither tumor growth nor tissue perfusion was different between the groups. The presented study corroborates the assumption that tumor microcirculation in bone exhibits similar time-dependent alterations compared to soft tissue tumors. A minor surgical intervention did not change tumor growth kinetics however microcirculatory properties were altered. Whether major surgery has an impact on tumor growth in bone should be clarified in further studies.
Schaefer
Christian
C
Orthopaedic Spine Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. c.schaefer@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Fuhrhop
Ina
I
Schroeder
Malte
M
Viezens
Lennart
L
Otten
Jasmin
J
Fiedler
Walter
W
Rüther
Wolfgang
W
Hansen-Algenstaedt
Nils
N
D000818:Animals; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D002199:Capillary Permeability; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D008833:Microcirculation; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply