Successful in vitro growth of human head and neck cancer after transplantation in nude mice.

Head and neck tumours from 14 different lines growing in athymic nude mice were cultured in a soft agar cloning assay. Eleven lines (79%) demonstrated growth with more than 100 colonies per 3 X 10(5) cells plated. These results are much more favourable than those obtained with head and neck tumours taken directly from the patient. It is suggested that the combination of the athymic nude mouse xenograft model with the clonogenic assay could serve as a new screening model for chemotherapeutic agents against head and neck cancer.