Tumorigenicity and other properties of cells from ten continuous human esophageal carcinoma cell lines in nude mice.

A total of 239 6-week-old nude mice of BALB/c origin were inoculated sc with human esophageal carcinoma cells of lines Hcu 10, Hcu 18, Hcu 37, and B5 (derived from poorly differentiated tumors), of lines Hcu 39, Hcu 57, and B17 (derived from moderately differentiated tumors), and of lines Hcu 13, Hcu 33, and Hcu 35 (derived from well-differentiated tumors), as well as with esophageal carcinoma lines 13.M1, 13.M5, 13.M7, 13M9, and 13.M1.M11 passaged through the mouse. Tumor take rates varied from 5 to 90% with an overall take rate of 21.9% (56 tumors). Latent periods ranged from 4 weeks to 9 months, and cells of each line gave rise to tumors of varying histologic differentiation. Cells of the poorly differentiated and well-differentiated lines gave rise to 23 infiltrating tumors, with metastasis being observed in a single mouse. All other tumors (33) were encapsulated and mobile. Thirty mice were observed for 6 months following removal of the primary tumor, and a single instance of recurrent carcinoma was noted. Cells from the nude mouse tumor xenografts adapted well to in vitro conditions and developed into continuous lines. The investigations confirmed the tumorigenic potential of 10 human esophageal carcinoma cell lines and provided information about properties of esophageal carcinoma cells in vivo and in vitro.