Abstract
THERE have been several reports that the antiviral substance interferon and its inducers can inhibit the growth of tumours, whether spontaneous, transplanted or induced by viruses or chemicals1–5. Interferon preparations also inhibit the growth of certain tumorigenic and diploid embryonic cells in vitro6,7. Recent reports, however, have indicated that, in certain circumstances, particularly when there is pretreatment with a dose, several interferon inducers can accelerate the growth of transplanted and virus-induced tumours8,9, and enhance spontaneous and virus-induced transformation in vitro10,11. Interferon inducers affect many biological functions, including immunological responses and macrophage function12,13, and a direct correlation between interferon induction and tumour enhancement has not been demonstrated convincingly, although our preliminary data indicated that interferon pretreatment enhanced the splenomegaly induced in mice by Rauscher leukaemia virus9. We report here that pretreatment of mice with a potent interferon preparation enhances the growth of virus-induced sarcomas and a transplantable leukaemia.
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GAZDAR, A., SIMS, H., SPAHN, G. et al. Interferon mediates Enhancement of Tumour Growth and Virus-induced Sarcomas in Mice. Nature New Biology 245, 77–78 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio245077a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio245077a0
