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Spontaneous regional lymph node metastases of three variants of the B16 melanoma: Relationship to primary tumor size and pulmonary metastas
Author(s) -
Nathanson S. David,
Haas Gabriel P.,
Mead Marilee J.,
Lee Min
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of surgical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.201
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1096-9098
pISSN - 0022-4790
DOI - 10.1002/jso.2930330112
Subject(s) - medicine , lymph node , primary tumor , melanoma , lymph , lymphatic system , incidence (geometry) , pathology , lymphadenectomy , metastasis , oncology , cancer , cancer research , physics , optics
We studied the patterns of spontaneous regional lymph node metastases of three variants (Fl, F10, and BL6) of the B16 melanoma in C57BL/6 mice and related the incidence to primary tumor size and pulmonary metastases. The incidence of regional lymph node and pulmonary metastases correlated with increasing primary tumor size (p ⩽ 0.0001). The incidence of pulmonary metastases in mice whose regional lymph nodes did not contain tumor also correlated with increasing primary tumor size (p ⩽ 0.0001). This propensity for direct hematogenous spread was more apparent in BL6 tumors than in F1 and F10 tumors (p ⩽ 0.0001). BL6 tumors also metastasized to regional nodes at smaller primary tumor sizes (p ⩽ 0.04). Heterogeneous variants that metastasize earlier to regional lymphatic and hematogenous sites dictates the natural history of the primary tumor. Whether prophylactic lymphadenectomy for melanomas is therapeutic may depend on dissemination‐related phenotypic characteristics.