Preoperative radiation therapy in simulated cancer of the colon in rabbits

Conclusion

An attempt has been made to mimic the clinical setting of human cancer of the colon by implanting a tumor in the colon of the white rabbit. Within well-defined limits, treatment was provided in the combined therapy group which would approximate clinical experience: that is, the use of less than cancericidal dose of irradiation followed closely by surgical resection.

The result has been development of a dependable experimental system by which the effects of combined therapy on simulated cancer of the colon in the laboratory animal can be studied. The use of radiation therapy administered prior to surgical removal of implanted tumor in the rabbit colon provides significant prolongation of survival time if given when distant metastasis is not a significant part of the picture-that is, within two weeks after implantation. This experimental method can be used to study further this plan of therapy and can also be used to determine the reasons for the observed response. I am humbly aware, however, of the caution that should be exercised in postulating clinical results based on experiments performed on animals.