Metastasis in a rabbit choroidal melanoma model.

A substrain of Greene hamster melanoma adapted to grow in the choroid of the rabbit eye is shown to have the tendency to metastasize. Twenty-one normal rabbits were studied for the effects of vascular inoculation of a tumor cell suspension prepared from this choroidal melanoma, and two rabbits were used for long-term observation of the natural untreated course of the choroidal melanoma. In both groups, metastases to the liver, lung, kidney, and other organs were demonstrated.