Studies of a Transplantable Rat Pheochromocytoma

A transplantable rat pheochromocytoma in New England Deaconess Hospital (NEDH) was first described by WARREN in 1972. It is characterized by the documented association with systolic hypertension and the known presence of increased urinary metanephrines and vanilmadelic acid in tumor-bearing animals. The present report describes features of the transplantable tumor, our laboratories have noted, in five tumor transplantations starting in 1974. Tumor-bearing animals survive 49 +/- 5 days and die much sooner than aging, non-tumor-bearing litter mates. Gross measurements confirm the rapid growth of the primary tumor, although at autopsy, histologically proven metastatic foci are rarely seen. Polycythemia with or without increased erythropoietin (ESF) levels were not detected. Electronmicroscopic studies confirmed the presence in tumor tissue of the previously described intracytoplasmic granules. Further studies on this endocrine-associated transplantable tumor are warranted and feasible.