Heart levels of adriamycin in normal and tumor-bearing mice

Adriamycin accumulates in the hearts of mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma more than in controls. The effect is more evident at longer (25 days) than earlier times (11 days) after tumor transplantation and it is more consistent at high (15 mg/kg i.v.) than at low doses (5 mg/kg i.v.). The effect is probably related to an impaired pulmonary circulation due to the presence of lung metastases but is not related to a different capacity of the heart in control versus tumor bearing animals to take up adriamycin. The effect is observed in Lewis lung carcinoma bearing animals is present also in mice bearing a B16 melanoma, but not in (C₃H × O₂₀)F₁ mice with a spontaneous mammary carcinoma or in rats transplanted with the Walker carcinosarcoma. In most experimental conditions adriamycin accumulates less in the lungs of tumor bearing animals than in controls. Like heart and lung, other tissues show concentrations of Adriamycin much higher than in blood, but differences in AM distribution between normal and tumor bearing animals are not so evident. Daunomycin is similar to adriamycin in this respect.