Proceedings: B.C.G. treatment of pleural and peritoneal tumour growth in rats

Our plain-English summary of Proceedings: B.C.G. treatment of pleural and peritoneal tumour growth in rats, by M.V. Pimm (British Journal of Cancer, 1974).

The study

• Author: M.V. Pimm
• Journal: British Journal of Cancer
• Published: 1974;30(2):183
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This is a short conference abstract describing experiments in rats. It did not study asbestos exposure or people. The author injected cells from rat sarcomas (tumours first produced with the chemical 3-methylcholanthrene, and described as immunogenic) into the chest cavity (pleura). The abstract also reports on these sarcomas growing in the abdominal cavity (peritoneum) but does not say how that growth was set up. The rats were treated with B.C.G., a bacterial preparation, either live or sterilized by radiation. Tumour growth in the chest was suppressed when B.C.G. was injected into the chest. This worked even when treatment was given several days after the tumour cells. As little as 10 micrograms was reported as effective; the unit is damaged in the scan, and micrograms is the likely reading. B.C.G. given into a vein or under the skin had no effect on tumour growth in the chest. Tumour growth in the abdomen was suppressed only by B.C.G. injected into the abdomen. Tumours from other rat tumour types that lacked significant immunogenicity were not controlled. The abstract gives no animal numbers. The author concluded that this approach might perhaps have a clinical application, for example in malignant mesothelioma of the pleura and peritoneum.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Conference abstract (proffered paper) reporting animal experiments
• Who was studied: Rats with transplanted rat tumours, mainly immunogenic 3-methylcholanthrene induced sarcomata, at the Cancer Research Campaign Laboratories, University of Nottingham. The cells were explicitly injected into the pleural cavity. The abstract does not say how peritoneal growth was established. The number of animals is not given.
• Exposure: Treatment with B.C.G. organisms, live or radiation sterilized, given into the pleura, into the peritoneum, into a vein, or under the skin. No asbestos exposure was studied.
• Main results:
  • In rats with these sarcomas growing in the chest, B.C.G. injected into the chest suppressed tumour growth.
  • A dose as small as 10 micrograms was effective. The unit is damaged in the scan, and micrograms is the likely reading.
  • Treatment worked even when given several days after the tumour cells were injected.
  • B.C.G. given into a vein or under the skin had no effect on tumour growth in the chest.
  • Growth of these sarcomas in the abdomen was suppressed only by B.C.G. injected into the abdomen.
  • Chest or abdominal growths of other rat tumours that lacked significant immunogenicity were not controlled by this treatment.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the studies indicate the potential of B.C.G. contact immunotherapy for tumour deposits in the chest and abdomen. The author suggested this might perhaps have a clinical application, for example in malignant mesothelioma of the pleura and peritoneum.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma, Peritoneal mesothelioma.

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