GROWTH PATTERNS IN VITRO OF INVASIVE SQUAMOUS CARCINOMAS OF THE CERVIX. A CORRELATION OF CULTURAL, HISTOLOGIC, CYTOGENETIC AND CLINICAL FEATURES (1967)

Growth patterns of primary cultures of human cervical invasive squamous carcinomas were analysed with regard to cell cohesion, differentiation, cell shape, stratification and migration. On the basis of these criteria, the tumor cultures were divided into several distinct morphologic groups. Collagen gel proved superior to glass as a growth surface for cancer cells, but did not influence the morphologic classification of the cultures. In addition to the initial tissue-specific epithelial outgrowths, secondary non-specific epithelioid cells appeared in many of the cultures.



The in vitro growth patterns of the tumors were correlated to histologic, cytogenetic and clinical characteristics. Cell cohesion in culture was associated with carcinomas that were histologically cohesive, poorly differentiated or of the basal cell type and had small nuclei with near-diploid chromosome stemlines. Lack of cohesion in culture was related histologically to dispersed cell infiltration, squamous differentiation, large, differentiating nuclei and to higher chromosome modes. Some tumor cultures underwent characteristic changes, similar to changes in benign epithelial cultures. These features were interpreted as evidence of differentiation of squamous carcinoma cells in vitro, and were related to differentiation in vivo. There was a tendency for differentiating cultures to originate from exophytic tumors in early clinical stages and to be associated with a satisfactory short-term radiation response.



These results suggest that some characteristics of squamous carcinomas in primary culture are expressions of tumor cell properties present in vivo.



On a analyse les types de croissance de cultures primaires d'epitheliomas malpighiens spinocellulaires du col de l'uterus, en observant les caracteres suivants: cohesion entre les cellules, differenciation, forme des cellules, stratification et migration. Sur cette base, les cultures se divisaient en plusieurs groupes morphologiques bien distincts. La gelatine s'est revelee superieure au verre comme substrat de culture, mais elle a ete sans influence sur le classement morphologique. En plus de la croissance initiale de cellules epitheliales specifiques du tissu d'origine, on a trouve dans beaucoup de cultures des cellules epithelioides secondaires non specifiques.



On a confronte les types de culture in vitro aux donnees histologiques, cytogenetiques et cliniques. La cohesion des cellules en culture etait associee aux epitheliomas qui presentaient une bonne cohesion sur les images histologiques, etaient peu differencies ou du type basocellulaire et avaient de petits noyaux dont le stock chromosomique etait a peu pres diploide. L'absence de cohesion en culture correspondait histologiquement a une infiltration de cellules dispersees, a une differenciation spinocellulaire, a des noyaux grands, bien differencies et a des nombres de chromosomes d'ordre plus eleve. Certaines cultures ont subi des modifications caracteristiques, analogues celles qu'on observe dans les cultures epithelials benignes. Ces caracteres ont ete consideres comme revelant la differenciation des cellules des epitheliomas malpighiens spinocellulaires in vitro, et ont ete rapportes a la differenciation in vivo. Les cultures donnant des cellules differenciees provenaient principalement de tumeurs exophytiques aux premiers stades cliniques et etaient surtout associees a des tumeurs reagissant bien a la radiotherapie de breve duree.



Ces resultats font penser que certains caracteres des epitheliomas spinocellulaires en culture primaire sont l'expression de proprietes de la cellule tumorale in vivo.