Enhanced anti-cancer effects of intralymphatic aclarubicin on distal lymph node metastases: quantitative evaluation using a new experimental model in mice.

: The anti-cancer drug aclarubicin (2.0 mg/kg body weight) was injected into the left popliteal lymph node (the primary draining node of the foot-pad region) or into the tail vein, 8 days after a subcutaneous inoculation of 5 x 10(5) P388 leukemia cells/mouse in the left hind paw foot-pad of mouse (donor). During this time, metastases were established in the lower para-aortic nodes (the secondary draining nodes of this region). On day 10, the lower para-aortic nodes taken from each donor were transferred intraperitoneally to a normal mouse (recipient). From the recipients' survival time, the viable P388 leukemia cell number in the para-aortic nodes per donor mouse was estimated with a calibration line. The recipients' survival curve in the intralymphatic chemotherapy group was statistically significantly better than that in the intravenous chemotherapy group.