Soft agar clonogenic assay for predicting chemosensitivity of human tumor cells from malignant effusions.

Tumor cells from five human neoplastic effusions were successfully cloned in soft agar and their sensitivity to anticancer drugs was tested. Three patients were resistant in vitro and were found to be resistant in vivo to the same drugs. Two patients were sensitive in vitro and were found to be sensitive in vivo to the same drugs.