Surface membrane O-alkyl lipid concentration and metastasizing behavior in transplantable rat mammary carcinomas.

Whole cell and surface membrane O-alkyl and alk-1-enyl lipid concentrations of 11 transplantable rat mammary carcinomas were measured. A correlation was found between surface membrane O-alkyl lipid levels and metastasizing behavior. No relationship was found between alk-1-enyl lipid concentrations and metastasizing behavior. A possible correlation was found between the product of growth rate and rank order of metastasizing behavior versus surface membrane O-alkyl lipid concentration. Growth rate alone did not correlate with surface membrane O-alkyl lipid concentration.