Saline as an Irrigant: Use in Surgical Wounds in Mice Contaminated with Tumor Cells

Introduction  Interest in the problem of local recurrence of cancer following definitive surgery has prompted experimental animal studies designed to evaluate the local tumoricidal effectiveness of various adjunctive chemotherapeutic agents^1-9 In attempting to interpret such experimental data, consideration must be given to the animal model itself and the parameters utilized in determining results. The type of experimental wound created, age of animals, size and characteristics of the inoculum, concentration and volume of drug, time, and manner of application all are variables that can influence results obtained.^2-4,6,7,9Most animal models consist of surgically created wounds on the back or abdomen or in the axilla. After tumor-cell contamination, these wounds usually are irrigated with a specific agent and results are compared with those obtained by using an equal volume of isotonic saline applied in a similar manner. By this comparison the influence of simple mechanical irrigation can be determined.Isotonic