GROWTH PATTERNS AND CHROMOSOME CONSTITUTIONS OF HUMAN MALIGNANT TUMOURS AFTER LONG-TERM SERIAL TRANSPLANTATION IN NUDE MICE

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Abstract
Five human malignant tumors, heterotransplanted to athymic nude mice, were reinvestigated after long-term serial transplantation, and their growth patterns and chromosomal constitutions were compared with their early appearance. After 27-56 passages over 3 1/2-5 1/2 yr, all of the tumors, 2 adenocarcinomas of the colon, 2 malignant melanomas and 1 Burkitt''s lymphoma, retained the cytological and histological appearance of the inoculated human material. All mitoses observed in the chromosome studies were of human karyotype. The fact that no total chromosomal species shift, no interspecies hybridization and no changes in biological properties appeared, as observed in other heterotransplantation systems, would indicate that human tumors grafted to nude mice are more suitable models in, e.g., studies concerning cancer chemotherapeutics.