Influence of Lecithin and Cholesterin upon Tumors. 59 



42 (738) 



Preliminary report on the influence of lecithin and cholesterin 

 upon the growth of tumors. 



By T. Brailsford Robertson and Theo. C. Burnett. 



From the Rudolph Spreckels Physiological Laboratory of the 

 University of California.] 



Sixty-one white rats, obtained from local sources and hereafter 

 designated "Local" were inoculated in the axillary region with 

 portions of a Flexner-Jobling carcinoma which was obtained from 

 the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research through the kind- 

 ness of Dr. Peyton Rous. The number of successful inoculations, 

 determined after 19 days, was 42, or 69 per cent. 



Sixty-four rats obtained from dealers in Chicago and hereafter 

 designated "Chicago" were similarly inoculated with portions of 

 a Flexner-Jobling carcinoma which had been obtained from the 

 Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research early in the year and 

 propagated through four generations of rats in this laboratory. 

 The number of successful inoculations, determined after 18 days, 

 was 55, or 86 per cent. 



Both sets of tumors grew rapidly, attaining average diameters 

 of 15.0 and 1 1.9 millimeters after 19 and 18 days respectively. 



Beginning upon the 19th day in the case of the "Local" and 

 upon the 18th day in the case of the "Chicago" animals, each 

 of the two groups of animals was sorted without selection into 

 three batches, of which one (consisting of 12 animals in each case) 

 served as controls, another (10 "Local" and 13 "Chicago") 

 received 1 c.c. of a 3.9 per cent, suspension of cholesterin in N/10 

 sodium oleate solution, which was injected hypodermically directly 

 into the tumors every 2d or 3d day (three times a week); the 

 third batch (20 "Local" and 30 "Chicago") received 1 c.c. of a 2 

 per cent, aqueous emulsion of lecithin similarly injected into the 

 tumors upon the same days. 



It was found that in the pre-metastatic stage cholesterin causes 

 a very notable acceleration of the primary growth, the gain in 

 diameter between the 19th (18th) and 24th (23d) days being 11.6 

 mm. in the "Local" and 11.4 mm. in the "Chicago" animals as 



