Effect of allogeneic blood transfusions on the growth of two different tumours in the rat.

The effect of allogeneic blood transfusions on tumour growth was studied in the rat. BD IX animals pretreated by five blood transfusions from SD rats were transplanted with two different syngeneic malignant neurogenic tumours (neurinoma, ependymoma). The tumour growth rates in the transfused animals were compared to those of non-transfused controls. No accelerated growth rates of both types of tumours were observed in transfused animals. As these data are in contrast to the findings of other authors, further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of blood transfusions on tumour growth.