Immunologic evaluation of human bladder cancer: in vitro studies.

Human bladder cancer tissue were obtained from 31 patients with the histologic diagnosis of transitional cell cancer. Attempts to grow these tumors in tissue culture resulted in 18 primary cultures but only 2 long-term cell lines. Cell-mediated and serum cytotoxicity was demonstrated in both autochthonous and allogeneic experiments. This would suggest a cross-reacting common antigen. In the patients showing positive cytotoxicity, no recurrence of tumor could be demonstrated with up to 3 years' followup after therapy.