Cancer-induced cytolysis of normal bone marrow cells

MOST investigations of the invasive process of cancer have involved microscopic studies of tumour spread after injection of cancer cells into experimental animals1–4. Attempts to investigate tumour invasiveness using organ or parabiotic cultures have met with limited success5–7. We have evaluated tumour-mediated cytolysis of normal rat marrow cells using suspension cultures containing Walker-256 carcinosarcoma cells and 59Fe-labelled rat bone marrow cells. This mixed cell culture system seems to provide a promising approach to the further understanding of cancer invasiveness.