Successively transplanted canine transmissible sarcoma.

Canine transmissible sarcoma has been maintained since 1967 as an allogeneic tumor cell line. The tumor originated from a naturally occurring venereal sarcoma in a 7-year-old female dog, Hokkaido-ken. The animals used for the serial transfer from 1st to 50th passages were 1- to 8-month-old puppies. Histological features and karyological characteristics of the tumor were not modified by the passive transfer. In most of the dogs, the palpable growths in the subcutaneous tissues were present at approximately the same time. These findings suggest that the sarcoma is an only established tumor cell line in dogs.