The ChemoFx assay: an ex vivo cell culture assay for predicting anticancer drug responses.

We provide a detailed description of the ChemoFx Assay, a phenotype-based cell culture assay for predicting anticancer drug responses in individual cancer patients. The ChemoFx Assay is based on the outgrowth and short-term primary culture of epithelial cells derived from pieces of solid tumor adenocarcinomas that are obtained at the time of tumor resection. Malignant epithelial cells are grown attached in wells of microtiter plates and treated with six escalating doses of chemotherapeutic drug. Using an operator-controlled automated image analysis system, cell kill is measured microscopically by counting the number of live cells remaining after dead cells have detached and are subsequently rinsed away. A dose-response graph is automatically generated by comparing the number of cells in drug-treated wells with those in control wells.