Primary culture of liver cancer tissues with or without transcatheter arterial embolization and establishment of a cell strain.

More epithelial-like cells are found in primary cultures of transcathetel arterial embolization (TAE)-untreated human liver cancer tissues than in those of TAE-treated tissues. A new cell strain, HUH-33, established from the former, grows slowly and is untransplantable into nude mice and secretes alpha-fetoprotein, albumin and some other tumor markers. Chromosome numbers are widely distributed. HUH-33 expresses hepatocyte type keratin and contains desmosome- or intermediate filament bundle-like structures.