Platinum chemotherapy induces lymphangiogenesis to prime tissues for tumor metastasis

Chemotherapy has been used to inhibit cancer growth for decades, but emerging evidence shows it can affect the tumor stroma unintentionally promoting cancer malignancy. After treatment of primary tumors, remaining drug drains via lymphatics. Though all drugs interact with the lymphatics, we know little of their impact on them. Here, we show a previously unknown effect of platinums, a widely used chemotherapeutic, to directly induce systemic VEGFR3-dependent lymphangiogenesis. These changes are dose-dependent, long-lasting, and occur in healthy and cancerous tissue in multiple mouse models of breast cancer. We saw similar effects in human ovarian and breast cancer patients whose treatment regimens included platinums. Carboplatin treatment results in lymphatic hyperplasia and secretion of pro-chemotactic factors in lymph nodes. Carboplatin treatment of healthy mice prior to mammary tumor inoculation increases cancer metastasis. These findings have broad-reaching implications for cancer patients receiving platinums and support the inclusion of anti-VEGFR3 therapy into treatment regimens.