Corticosteroid effect on intracerebral melanomata and associated cerebral edema

Abstract

Corticosteroids administered to mice with intracerebral melanomata resulted in alleviation of symptoms, prolongation of life, and inhibition of tumor growth. Tumors of the same size, dissected from the brains of control and treated mice, induced the same amount of cerebral edema in the surrounding brain tissue. Although the inhibitory effect of steroids on brain tumors was shown in the present experimental work, the mechanism that causes alleviation of symptoms so quickly in steroid-treated patients with metastatic tumors is difficult to explain on this basis.