Treatment of mouse leukemia with heavy x-irradiation followed by spleen transplantation.

Attempts have been made to cure carcinogen-induced leukemia in mice by a supralethal dose of x rays on the whole-body and followed by transplantation of isologous spleen cells. Of 16 leukemic mice treated with 1200 r before large lymphomas had developed, 6 died from the irradiation, 8 died from leukemic relapse, and 2 are still alive without leukemia after 7 and 4 months, respectively. Other experiments are in progress with the aim of treating acute, otherwise lethal irradiation disease with homologous cells. Results are reported which correlate the protective effect of different homologous spleen cells with the graft versus host assay of histocompatibility. (auth)