In Vitro Culture of Malignant Tumor Tissues From the Human Urinary Tract

Surgical specimens from 110 malignant tumors and 33 normal tissues of human urianry tract were submitted to the study. An active growth of the epithelial cells was observed in 14 renal cell carcinomas (58.3%), 2 transitional cell carcinomas of the renal pelvis (28.6%), 8 transitional cell carcinomas of the bladder (11.0%), and 23 normal kidneys (88.5%). The cells from a renal cell carcinoma, a transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, and a normal kidney clearly showed an active growth for more than 10 transfer generations in their subcultures. Specimens from cancerous and normal tissues of the bladder were rarely kept for a long-term culture, mainly because of the high frequencies of bacterial contaminations. The cells derived from a transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder have been keeping a multiplying activity for over 75 transfer generations and survived storage at -80°C for 6 months. These cells are now regarded to be established and designated as KK-47 cells.