Investigation of the in vivo anti-invasive and anti-metastatic effect of desacetyl vinblastine amide sulphate or vindesine.

In a study of the effect of vindesine (VDS) against metastases of murine tumours in vivo, we demonstrated that VDS produced an anti-metastatic effect on tumours with invasive properties, such as Lewis lung carcinoma or Madison 109 lung carcinoma, while no effect was observed against lymph node metastases of the subcutaneously implanted P388 tumour model. Local systemic mechanisms favouring or opposing the phenomena of invasion, dissemination, and establishment of secondary malignancies may explain the differences between the various models. Although our data did not allow us to conclude that VDS has specific anti-invasive properties in vivo, its inhibitory effect against secondary tumour growth agrees with the assumption that invasion is an important step in the establishment of metastases.