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Cocultivation of Human Primary Breast Carcinomas and Embryonic Mesenchyme Resulting in Growth and Maintenance of Tumor Cells¹

Departments of Anatomy [R. C. A.] and Pathology [W. R.], University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, California 94143

The cocultivation of primary infiltrating ductal carcinoma cells from the human breast with embryonic mesenchyme resulted in growth and maintenance of the tumor cells in the majority of cultures, a result that differs markedly from the usual negative outcome in cultivating such carcinomas by organ culture or monolayer tissue culture techniques. In these experiments cocultures of tumor cells from infiltrating ductal carcinomas with productive fibrosis and embryonic murine salivary gland or mammary mesenchyme were successful in approximately 80% of the preparations. Apparently, the remaining 20% of the cocultures represented technical failures, at least in part. The breast cancer cells in our cultures initially interacted at the mesenchymal surface and subsequently invaded masses of mesenchyme. Mitoses occurred in the neoplastic cells growing at the periphery of the mesenchyme but decreased in frequency after carcinoma cell invasion. Similar results with respect to growth of tumor cells were also achieved in cocultures with fetal human pectoral mesenchyme in a small series, although firm attachment to and invasion of this mesenchyme were not as readily observed. The maximal time of examination of the cocultures was 10 days, when carcinoma cells were still viable. We propose that this coculture model might be useful for studying both basic scientific and clinical aspects of human breast carcinoma.

¹ These studies were supported by USPHS Contract NIH-NCI-G-72-3861, the University of California School of Medicine Simon Fund 2-520345-38107-3, and USPHS Research Grant CA-07191-14.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 8/15/77. Accepted 1/ 5/78.