Sex-dependent behavioral alterations in BALB/c mouse bearing a non-CNS solid tumor

Male mice showed deficits in recognition memory, scoring a low novel object time exploration (42.26 % in males [p = 0.02] and 50.15 % [p = 0.53] in females). Spontaneous alternation was significantly impaired in both male (p = 0.01) and female (p = 0.03) mice. During tumor progression, only female mice showed decreased mobility in indicators such as average speed, mobility rate, and total distance in the open field test, as well as deficient burrowing activity, indicating a lack of motivation or sickness behavior. Our findings suggest that tumor burden is associated with behavioral alterations in a sex-dependent manner in a mouse model of lymphoma.