Original experimental model of tuberculosis and lung cancer

BACKGROUND: The potential relationship between pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer has been the subject of intense interest over the past few decades. Nevertheless, the features of the pathogenesis of concomitant pathology remain poorly studied. 
AIM: The ain of the study to develop an experimental model of the concomitant pathology of tuberculosis and lung cancer. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was performed on mice of the C57BL/6 line at the age of two months in four groups: 1st intact mice (n = 12), 2nd mice without a tumor infected with tuberculosis (n = 24), 3rd tumor-bearing mice not infected with tuberculosis (n = 23), 4th tumor-bearing mice infected with tuberculosis (n = 24). Individual and group parameters were evaluated using the SPSS Statistica v23 software package. 
RESULTS: Tumor was developed at the site of primary transplantation in all mice from groups 3 and 4, which was confirmed by visual assessment and the results of histological examination. Tumor growth in the main group was significantly less than in the control group of the tumor, which may be due to intoxication against the background of tuberculosis infection. All infected mice from groups 2 and 4 developed pulmonary tuberculosis, confirmed by computed tomography of the lungs, bacteriological and histological examination of lung samples. Mycobacterial load in the lungs was the highest in animals with concomitant pathology of tuberculosis and tumor. The survival rate of mice was determined to a large extent by tumor growth rather than by the progression of tuberculosis infection. 
CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study indicate the possibility of creating an experimental biological model of the concomitant pathology of tuberculosis and lung cancer in mice. The features of the course of the concomitant pathology were revealed: Lewis lung epidermoid carcinoma develops more slowly in tuberculosis infected animals than in the tumor control group; the development of the tuberculosis process in mice with a tumor occurs more intensively than in the tuberculosis infection control group. The survival rate of mice with concomitant pathology is determined more by the intensity of tumor growth than by the progression of tuberculosis.