Lung cancer model for study of the metastatic process.

In our hamster model of focal, chemically induced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we studied metastases in autochthonous hamster hosts (n = 300) and in syngeneic hamster and nude mice recipients (n = 230) of serial tumor transplants. Metastases in autochthonous hosts and transplant recipients occurred in regional lymph nodes, liver, and adrenals. In autochthonous host hamsters no metastases were noted from microinvasive (n = 112) or visible cancer less than 3.0 mm in diameter (n = 66); the incidence of metastasis was 8.2% (4/49) from 3- to 10-mm cancers and 22% (16/73) from cancers 10 mm in diameter or larger (p less than 0.05). Serial transplants were used to evaluate the metastatic propensity of 20 primary and six metastatic NSCLCs. Six primary NSCLCs that metastasized in the autochthonous host and six metastatic NSCLCs all metastasized promptly in recipients. This expression of metastatic potential was significantly different (p less than 0.05) from 14 primary cancers without autochthonous host metastases. Eight of the 14 caused no metastases in recipients, even after 5 to 11 tumor growth cycles; metastases occurred from the other six primary NSCLC after 3 to 12 tumor growth cycles in transplant recipients. Primary hamster NSCLCs metastasize in the autochthonous host with a frequency and a distribution pattern similar to human NSCLCs. A new model to study serially the cellular changes that govern the process of metastasis in NSCLC has been developed.