Systemic inflammation enhances metastatic growth in a syngeneic neuroblastoma mouse model.

Background: We previously showed that total tumor resection enhances metastatic growth in a syngeneic metastatic mouse model of neuroblastoma. In this study, we further investigated which surgical factors contributed most to metastatic growth.
Methods: Tumor cells derived from MYCN transgenic mice were subcutaneously injected into wild-type mice. Mice were randomly assigned to receive partial resection (PR group), subcutaneous implantation of a sponge (Sp group), or observation (Obs group). The lymph node metastasis volume and the frequency of lung metastasis were compared 14 days after assignment by measuring C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels.
Results: The lymph node metastasis volume in the Sp group was larger than in the Obs group (148.4 [standard deviation {SD}: 209.5] vs. 10.2 [SD 12.8] mm ³ ). The frequency of lung metastasis was greater in the Sp group than in the PR group (11.9 [SD 12.2] vs. 6.6 [SD 4.0] counts/slide). The CRP level in the Sp group was higher than in the PR group (2.3 [SD 0.5] vs. 1.5 [SD 0.4] μg/mL), and the IL-6 level in the Sp group was higher than in the PR or Obs groups (28.4 [SD 34.5] vs. 12.4 [SD 19.0] vs. 5.4 [SD 8.1] pg/mL).
Conclusion: Metastatic growth may be enhanced by systemic inflammation.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)