Development of Multiple Tumors in Tarred and Radiated Animals

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Abstract
During the course of an experiment in which we studied the effect of gamma radiation on the subsequent development of spontaneous cancer in a strain of mice having a known incidence of mammary carcinoma, our attention was called to the work of Wagner (1), who stated that radiation reduces the resistance of an animal to transplantation of tumors. In a recent review of the literature of tar cancer, Seelig and Cooper (2) wrote: “Castiglioni studied 4 groups of mice tarred and radiated over the same site and tarred over one site and radiated over another. The data, which are very complete, led to the conclusion that the rays hastened the process of carcinogenesis through direct stimulation of the cells involved in cancer production, and through the crippling of the local and general defense forces of the body. Cirio and Balestra found that in tarred and untarred mice the percentage of metastases was higher in the radiated animals, and they suggest with caution that this result may be due to a weakening of the resistance of the tissues against metastasizing cells. In another paper, these same authors state more specifically that their results may have been caused by changes induced in the endocrine organs, or to general or special metabolic disturbances.”

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