Effect of iron deficiency on transplantable murine plasmacytoma.

The effect of iron deficiency on tumour growth and on host survival was studied in BALB/c mice with transplanted Merwin Plasma Cell-II tumors. Iron deficiency was induced by maintaining the animals on an iron-free diet consisting of milk-cornflour supplemented with CuCl2 and vitamins A and D. Iron deficiency resulted in retardation of both body and tumor growth in weanling BALB/c mice. Their survival, however, was not significantly different from that of iron supplemented controls. The inhibitory effect of iron deficiency on host and tumour growth could not be reproduced in adult BALB/c mice. The survival of tumor-bearing hosts maintained on a milk-cornflour diet (whether supplemented with iron or not) was significantly longer than that of animals maintained on a purina diet.