Hormone-Induced Tumors. II. Flank-Organ Epithelioma of the Syrian Hamster In Vitro2

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Abstract
In dispersed cell culture, the androgenestrogen-induced, dependent epithelioma of the flank organ of the Syrian hamster behaves similarly in medium with or without exogenous hormones. In organotypic culture, significant growth, i.e., mitosis, occurs only in hormone-enriched medium. Survival of tumor tissue within the 1-month culture period is significantly better in the hormone-treated organ cultures, though appreciable quantities of healthy-looking tissue are occasionally present in those receiving no treatment. This pattern of response in organ culture parallels the pattern observable in vivo: When exogenous androgen-estrogen is removed, tumor growth ceases, but subsequent decrease in size is extremely gradual and slight, even over a period of 300 to 400 days. This response of the flank-organ tumor in organ culture is essentially similar to that of the previously described estrogen-induced dependent carcinoma of the hamster kidney, which failed to grow or survive beyond a limited time in hormone-free medium. The behavior of these tumors in vivo seems to be paralleled to a certain extent in organotypic culture.