Effect of Intraperitoneal Injection of Malignant Urine Extracts in Normal and Hypophysectomized Rats

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Abstract
Alcohol-ether extracts of malignant urine were inj. into rats and, 2 to 4 days later, there was an enlargement of the spleen and/or gonads. For 39 of 40 malignant extracts, the ratios: body wt. to spleen wt. and body wt. to gonad wt. were from 20 to 80% below the same ratios in controls with no injn. This is a biologic test of malignancy. For 26 normal urine extracts the test was negative. The avg. % increase in wt. of the organs in the 40 cases over that in the controls was as follows: spleen, 39; [male] gonads, 55; and [female] gonad,s, 72. There was hyperemia in the spleen and hyperplasia and intense spermatogenesis in the testes. In 32 urines from un-diagnosed cases, there were 6 positive tests, one each from cancer of the breast, rectum, stomach, prostate, colon, and a malignant melanoma. In the other 26 cases, all were normal or non malignant, and the tests were negative. The malignant extracts lose their potency on standing in the cold. Thirty-nine of 40 malignant urine extracts which were injd. into normal and hypophysectomized rats gave a positive biologic test 2 days after injn. In 32 urines of unknown diagnosis, the test was positive in 6 malignancies and negative in 26 non malignancies. All urine extracts from normal individuals and other non malignant cases were negative. It is concluded that the biologic test is negative in the hypophysectomized rat, and that all malignant urines probably contain a substance, X, which is protein-sterol or sterol in nature. This stimulates the rat pituitary to produce increased arrrts. of another substance, Y, possibly a gonadotrophic hormone, which is then responsible for the biologic test for human malignancy.