Metastasis after intravenous inoculation of highly metastatic variants of mouse tumors and the effects of several antitumor drugs on the tumors.

Tumor metastasis was examined after iv inoculation of highly metastatic variants of mouse tumors. Highly metastatic variants, B16-F10 and B16-BL6, of B16 melanoma origin and colon 26 NL-17 of colon adenocarcinoma 26 origin were used in the experiments. Formation of pulmonary metastasis was influenced by the mouse strain and age. Based on the results, experimental metastasis systems of these tumors were established, and the effects of chemotherapeutic agents were examined. 5-Fluorouracil and adriamycin were significantly effective for the suppression of pulmonary metastasis. The degrees of suppression of metastasis by these drugs were different with different tumor variants, but the sensitivity of the metastasis to the drug was similar to that of the parent tumor. Several aspects of the chemotherapy of metastasis are discussed.