I. Dewaardsiebinga et al., HAMSTER GREEN MELANOMA IN THE RABBIT EYE - IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE TREATMENT TO IMPROVE THIS TUMOR-MODEL, Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology, 232(11), 1994, pp. 683-688
Background: The hamster Greene melanoma (HGM) implanted in the anterio
r chamber of the rabbit eye has been used to study experimental therap
ies for human uveal melanoma. However, the occurrence of spontaneous n
ecrosis limits the value of this model for long-term evaluation of exp
erimental treatments. In the present study we tested the hypothesis th
at an immune response is the cause of this necrosis and that preventio
n of the immune response can prolong the experimentation time Methods:
HGM was implanted in the anterior chamber of control, presensitized a
nd immunosuppressed rabbits. The effects of sensitization and immunosu
ppression were assessed by clinical and histological observation Resul
ts: Sensitization led to a significant slowing down of tumor growth, b
ut not to a difference in necrosis. Immunosuppressive treatment with c
yclosporin A improved the success rate of implantation and decreased t
he amount of necrosis in the tumor Conclusion: The immune response pla
ys a role in the occurrence of necrosis. However, although immunosuppr
essive treatment with cyclosporin A decreased the amount of necrosis,
significant necrosis still occurred, suggesting that other factors lik
e angiogenesis play a part as well and still limit the usefulness of t
his model in the long-term evaluation of experimental therapies.