Effect of unilateral nephrectomy on tumor growth of the murine renal cell adenocarcinoma and neuroblastoma.

Compensatory renal growth has been observed following contralateral nephrectomy in man and in certain animals. In a recent study of murine Wilms' tumor, tumor growth was observed to be affected by contralateral nephrectomy; therefore, a murine renal cell adenocarcinoma and neuroblastoma were evaluated. Comparison of tumors in sham-nephrectomized animals to tumors in mice who had undergone unilateral nephrectomy showed no significant increase in tumor weights. However, the contralateral kidney in the uninephrectomized animals had increased in weight as compared to that in tumor-bearing intact mice and the kidneys removed at uninephrectomy. This study demonstrates that factors influencing compensatory renal growth do not affect all renal tumors or other solid tumors.