Effect of acute and chronic ethanol intake on metastasis formation in rat liver

The effect of acute ethanol intoxication and prolonged intake of ethanol on metastasis formation in the liver was studied in the rat. The tumour cells used were derived from a pharmacologically induced colon carcinoma (NGW 1) and were injected intraportally. Acute ethanol intoxication at the time of injection was associated with a liver weight of 13.29 +/- 0.89 gm two weeks later, compared to 8.43 +/- 0.51 gm in controls. Daily intake of ethanol for eight weeks resulted in a mild reduction of platelets. The liver weight in two groups was 7.31 +/- 0.50 gm and 12.19 +/- 1.40 gm three weeks after intraportal injection of cancer cells as compared to 9.53 +/- 1.11 gm and 19.63 +/- 1.67 gm in controls. The results indirectly supported the hypothesis that acute ethanol intoxication causes increased platelet activity and confirmed earlier results showing the importance of platelets for metastasis formation.