Supernatants of tumours treated with chemotherapy can alter tumour growth and development in vivo

Tumour-derived supernatants are comprised of bioactive substances that have the capacity to transform host systems rendering them more supportive of tumour growth. Certain chemotherapies are able to alter the make-up of these supernatants. Materials and

The study lends in vivo support to the idea that tumours produce bioactive components that can influence host biology and that certain chemotherapies can negate these.

We explored the effects that vaccination with supernatants derived from tumours may have on tumour growth in a BALB/c model.

A number of cytokines were detected in the supernatants capable of increasing B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) protein expression in cancer cells; of note, significantly higher levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were detected in chemotherapy-treated supernatants compared to controls. Vaccinating mice with supernatants from untreated tumours significantly impeded the growth of sub-cutaneous-implanted tumours. However, this anticancer effect was significantly diminished if the supernatants used were from cancer cells treated with gemcitabine.