title: Microenvironment-associated lymph node metastasis of human cervical carcinoma xenografts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prognosis is particularly poor for patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix when the primary tumor has developed severe physiological abnormalities. The impact of the physiological microenvironment of the primary tumor on lymph node metastasis was investigated in this preclinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Xenografted tumors of two human cervical carcinoma lines (CK-160 and TS-415) transplanted into BALB/c nu/nu mice were included in the study. The fraction of radiobiologically hypoxic cells (HF(Rad)), interstitial fluid pressure (IFP), and extracellular pH (pH(e)) were measured in 22 CK-160 tumors and 16 TS-415 tumors and related to the metastatic status of the host mice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In CK-160, HF(Rad) was significantly higher in the metastatic than in the nonmetastatic tumors, whereas the metastatic and nonmetastatic tumors did not differ significantly in IFP or pH(e). In TS-415, IFP was significantly higher in the tumors that metastasized than in those that did not metastasize, whereas the tumors of the metastasis-positive and metastasis-negative mice did not differ significantly in HF(Rad) or pH(e).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lymph node metastasis is associated with abnormalities in the physiological microenvironment of the primary tumor in cervical carcinoma xenografts, and tumor line-specific mechanisms are probably involved.
authors.affiliation: Group of Radiation Biology and Tumor Physiology, Department of Radiation Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Norway.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ellingsen
authors.forename: Tord
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hompland
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mathiesen
authors.forename: Einar K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Rofstad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D015687:Cell Hypoxia; D045604:Extracellular Fluid; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D010386:Pelvic Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*; D011379:Prognosis; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*