Iron accumulation in mammary tumor suggests a tug of war between tumor and host for the microelement.

Iron is indispensable for the metabolism and proliferation of both normal and malignant cells. Recycling from senescent erythrocytes in the liver and spleen is critical for iron supply to all tissues. In the liver and spleen from MMTV-neu (erbB-2) mice bearing a mammary carcinoma, we noticed the scarcity of hemosiderin pigment and its abundance in the stroma of the tumor. Thus iron (III) was investigated with the Perls' reaction in tissues from normal and MMTV-neu mice. With respect to normal animals, in MMTV-neu mice, staining for iron was almost absent in the liver and scarce in the red pulp of the spleen. By contrast, iron was abundant in stromal and tumor cells in the invasion, angiogenic, necrotic and hemorrhagic regions and also in the interstitial fluid. These observations suggest that the tumor subverts iron recycling to its own advantage, by directly utilizing iron released from erythrocytes and dead tumor cells. Our findings are in keeping with the development of iron chelating drugs as chemotherapic agents.