Studies on mechanisms involved in metastasis formation from circulating tumor cells. Factors influencing tumor cell lodgement during normal and post-traumatic conditions.

As shown in earlier studies the formation of metastases after i.v. tumor cell injection in rats is increased in the immediate post-traumatic period and treatment with heparin, thrombocytopenia, and defibrinogenation decreases the formation of metastases. Thrombocytopenia also inhibits the stimulating effect of trauma on metastasis formation. The results of the studies reported in this paper show that the changes of metastasis formation induced by the factors mentioned above with few exceptions are well correlated to the lodgement of the injected tumor cells. Thus, heparin treatment and thrombocytopenia decrease the pulmonary lodgement of i.v. injected tumor cells. Trauma increases the pulmonary lodgement of i.v. injected tumor cells but when trauma is combined with thrombocytopenia, the effect of thrombocytopenia dominates and the pulmonary lodgement of tumor cells decreases when compared to control conditions. Despite this, trauma still gives rise to increased tumor cell lodgement during thrombocytopenia.