EXFOLIATIVE CYTOLOGIC EVALUATION OF PRIMARY CULTURED LUNG CARCINOMAS

This paper describes a tissue culture and exfoliative cell culture system that enables one to (1) evaluate the adequacy of primary lung carcinoma cultures for cytogenetic analysis, and (2) predict the likelihood of viable cells and type of differentiation present in the primary lung tumor cultures used for cytogenetics. Primary lung carcinomas were established from explant outgrowths and maintained in serum supplemented or serum free media on plastic or basement membrane associated protein coated dishes in order to obtain cells for karyotypic analysis (Miura et al., 1990). The media from these cultures that would ordinarily have been discarded was aspirated at each media change and used to prepare cytocentrifuge cytology preparations. Papanicolaou stained cells from the preparations were evaluated by cytotechnologists in order to assess (1) the cellularity and presence of cancer cells in the sample, (2) differentiation of the malignant cells, and (3) adequacy for chromosomal studies. We determined that cytology preparations of cell and explant outgrowth cultures from primary lung tumors are a reliable method for screening and evaluating the suitability of primary lung carcinoma cultures for cytogenetic analysis.