Development of experimental tumors in the ovary of a rat after transplantation into spleen.

The ovary is itself a hormone secreting organ, and it has been shown that some ovarian tumors also secrete hormones. Granulosa cell tumors and theca cell tumors are hormone secreting tumors. There have been many reports on the histogeneses, character, and nomenclatures of these tumors. In 1944, Biskind et al. reported the development of granulosa cell tumors and luteoma by intrasplenic ovarian autotransplantation in castrated female rats. Since that time, transplantation has been used for many investigational studies of hormone dependent tumors. Many researchers recognize that tumors are produced by changing hormonal conditions, but the production of a tumor by this process and the change in hormones before and after tumor production needs further study. Using Biskind's method, the authors morphologically examined tumor production from the initial change of transplanted ovarian grafts. The influence of gonadotropin on the production and development of tumors was then studied. The results of this work are reported here.