An in Vitro Clonal Assay for Bladder Cancer: Clinical Correlation with the Status of the Urothelium in 33 Patients

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Abstract
An in vitro colony forming assay system is described in which urothelial cells obtained by bladder barbotage at cystoscopy are cultivated in nutrient enriched soft agar. In the 33 patients studied in vitro growth characteristics correlated with the clinical behavior of the urothelium in vivo. All 9 patients with bladder cancer confirmed by biopsy had in vitro growth. Only 3 of the 17 control patients with non-neoplastic urologic disease had clusters/colonies in vitro. In 2 of 7 patients with no conclusive evidence of transitional cell carcinoma at the time of cystoscopy in vitro cluster formation was predictive of subsequent malignant deterioration. Implications and potential applications of the assay system are discussed.