Short-term culture of exfoliated cells from the urine of patients with bladder tumors.

This report concerns the short-term culture of urothelial cells from the urine sediment of over 100 patients with bladder tumors. Primary cell outgrowth was obtained in approximately 60% of the cultures initiated. Culture outcome was not related to tumor grade, patient age, or volume of the urine sample. Around 85% of the proliferating cultures were successfully transferred into multi-compartment chamber/slides. These results suggest that the culture system may be a useful tool for the study of urothelial cells using patient material obtained by non-invasive means.