Blood flow in experimental liver tumors: effect of vasoactive drugs

The effects of infused glucagon, histamine and vasopressin on blood flow in anaesthetized rats with intrahepatic tumors were studied using microspheres labelled with 99Tcm or 51Cr isotopes. Considerable circulatory effects were noted both in central hemodynamic parameters as well as in organ and tissue blood flows. glucagon infusion increased blood flow in the spleen and small intestine while hepatic artery flow was unchanged. Histamine induce a decrease in hepatic and pulmonary blood flow Vasopressin showed a pronounced decrease in blood flow in all organs measured. Relative tumor blood flow was registered as the ratio between tumor flow and arterial hepatic flow. A relative decrease of tumor blood flow in relation to surrounding liver tissue blood flow was registered after infusion of vasopressin. No effects were seen after glucagon or histamine infusion.