Liver Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Liver Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Adriamycin cytotoxicity may stimulate growth of hepatocellular tumours in an experimental model for adjuvant systemic chemotherapy in liver transplantation.

Rissler P, Söderdahl G, Nordman T, Xia L, Torndal UB, Björnstedt M, Ericzon BG, Olsson JM, Eriksson LC

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden.

Adjuvant treatment with adriamycin has been suggested to improve results after liver transplantation for hepatocellular cancer. Here we have applied an animal model for evaluation of treatment with adriamycin and/or cyclosporine A on liver tumour growth. Three chemically induced rat liver tumours with various degree of differentiation were transferred to the spleens of syngenic rats. Each recipient group was divided into four subgroups, treated with adriamycin and/or cyclosporine A or none of the drugs. When the tumour was well differentiated no proliferation was found in any of the subgroups. When the tumour exhibited a more pronounced dysplasia, adriamycin stimulated tumour growth. This effect was further increased by cyclosporine. In the animals transplanted with the most aggressive tumour, adriamycin inhibited tumour growth. When given together with cyclosporine this inhibition was counteracted. These data suggest that adriamycin, especially when given together with cyclosporine, may have a stimulatory effect on liver tumour cell growth.

Published 12 July 2005 in Transpl Int, 18(8): 992-1000.
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