Proliferative potential of cells from normal human colon epithelium, adenomas, and carcinomas of the large bowel

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Abstract
The proliferative potential of nonmalignant and malignant cells obtained from the human large bowel was assessed with a soft agar culture colony‐forming technique and by flow cytometry to analyze cell cycle kinetics. No colony formation occurred with samples of normal human adult colon mucosa. The absence of colony formation in all but 1 of 24 evaluable colorectal adenomas suggested that malignancy of tissue in vivo is generally necessary for colony formation to occur in soft agar cultures. A high proliferative index (S + G2/M), as assessed by flow cytometry, was significantly associated with higher soft agar culture counts in a series of 25 colorectal carcinomas.