Malignant Transformation of the Mouse Anorectal Epithelium Induced by an Inoculated Human Cancer Cell Line

Four kinds of human cancer cell lines and one mouse cancer cell line were inoculated into the subepithelial area of the anorectum of female nude mice. Among the cell lines, two cell lines (KATO III and Lu 135) showed the potential enforcement of atypical changes in the adjacent mouse anorectal epithelium. Moreover, the submucosal invasion of the malignant transformed cells of the mouse epithelium was demonstrated in specimens obtained from three KATO III-inoculated mice. This exciting and novel phenomenon clearly demonstrates the need to change the present general concept of a single-cell origin of cancer tissue. This valuable and novel discovery may change the basis of oncology research while also providing new ideas for projects to investigate the mechanisms of carcinogenesis from several aspects such as molecular biology, cell biology, and pathology. Moreover, the novel experimental design itself is also extremely useful as a simple model for investigating the mechanisms of oncogenesis.