The action of radium on cancer cells. I.—Effects of hydrocyanic acid, iodo-acetic acid, and sodium fluoride on the metabolism and transplantability of cancer cells

Abstract

In previous investigations (Cramer, 1932; Crabtree, 1932) evidence was obtained that— ( a ) susceptibility to radium is not a fixed property of a given type of cancer cell, but varies with changes in the environment. The success of transplanatation of sections of mouse tumour, irradiated in vitro , depended on the nature of the saline medium in which they were suspended; ( b ) a primary effect of radium radiation on cells in vitro was a selective diminution in their respiration, while glycolysis remained comparatively constant. These observations opened up a new line of investigation on the action of radium on cancer cells. A systematic study has therefore been undertaken of the effects which changes in the environment have on the susceptibility of malignant cells to radiation. In the second paper of this series, experiments are recorded which show the varying sensitivity to radium of tumour cells treated with well-known inhibitors of metabolism.