A tumor was induced in hamsters by subcutaneous injection of 20-methylcholanthrene. It proved to be 100% transmissible and 100% fatal. It has been passed through 288 generations over an 11-year period. The tumor is a sarcoma, initially pleomorphic, passing through a phase resembling fibrosarcoma, and eventually showing the cellular structure of a primitive reticulum cell sarcoma that has not changed since the 20th generation. After transfer, palpable tumor appears in the host after about 4 days, grows locally with great rapidity, metastasizes chiefly through lymphatic pathways, and kills the animal usually between the 20th and 35th days. The weight of the tumor at death is predictable within limits. The tumor is useful in assay of cancerocidal agents, as well as in other aspects of experimental oncology. It is available to any interested investigator.

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Aided by grants from the Smith, Kline and French Foundation, and the McIlhenny Research Fund, Cancer Research Fund of the Presbyterian Hospital and U.S.P.H.S. Grant #CY-2408.

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©1965 American Association for Cancer Research.
1965
Cancer Research, Inc.