Effect of blood transfusion in an experimental sarcoma model

To study the effect of allogeneic, syngeneic, and autologous blood transfusion on the growth rate of the KHT tumor in a C3H murine model.

Prospective, randomized, and controlled animal study.

Sixty-one C3H female mice.

The C3H female mice were implanted with 2 x 10(5) cells of KHT, a murine sarcoma. Ten days later, 0.3 mL of blood was removed from a retro-orbital site to simulate surgical blood loss. This blood loss was replaced by blood transfusion through a tail vein with the use of allogeneic (major histocompatibility complex incompatible), syngeneic (major histocompatibility complex compatible), or autologous blood. Tumor growth was measured daily for 14 days. The tumor growth curve for each of the animals was constructed and the mean slope of growth calculated for each group.

There were statistically significant differences in tumor growth rate (P =.001) when the allogeneic group (mean slope = 0.232, n = 14), the syngeneic group (mean slope = 0.190, n = 17), and the autologous group (mean slope = 0.202, n = 14) were compared. A t test confirmed that there was no significant difference in the tumor growth rate between the groups transfused with syngeneic and autologous blood (P =.26). However, the rate of tumor growth in the allogeneic group was found to be significantly higher when independently compared with the syngeneic group (P<.001) and the autologous group (P =.02).

In this experimental model of a solid murine sarcoma, allogeneic blood transfusion was associated with an increased rate of tumor growth compared with syngeneic and autologous blood transfusion, likely reflecting immunomodulatory effects incurred by the introduction of major histocompatibility complex-incompatible antigens.