Lung metastases after curative or noncurative irradiation of microscopic primary melanomas

✍ Scribed by S. David Nathanson; Patricia Westrick; Patricia Anaya; Fred W. Hetzel; Min Lee

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 570 KB
• Volume: 41
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-4790
• DOI: 10.1002/jso.2930410111

✦ Synopsis

Melanomas growing in the feet of syngeneic C57BL/6 mice were treated with a single dose of X-irradiation. After doses of 0, 3.75, 7.5, 10, 20, or 30 Gy the tumor-bearing limb was amputated at tumor sizes 1, 2, 3 , 4 , or 5 mm. After doses of 40, 50, 62.5, or 72.5 Gy, progressive tumor growth did not occur, and amputation of tumor-bearing limbs was done when controls were 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 mm in size. Eighteen days after amputation the mice were killed, and pulmonary metastases were documented at autopsy. None of the mice developed pulmonary metastases after curative irradiation of the primary foot tumor. After subcurative irradiation there was a significant increase ( P < .003) in pulmonary metastases. The size of the primary melanoma is important in the prediction of these metastases. In this model melanomas can be cured by an adequate dose of irradiation, but in those not cured the incidence of lung metastases is increased. The impact of this biologic phenomenon on survival is unclear.