Drug sensitivity test for primary culture of human cancer-cells using collagen gel embedded culture and image-analysis.

A new drug sensitivity assay method using the collagen gel embedded culture and image analysis was developed. Human cancer cells cultured in collagen gels showed extremely high cloning efficiency and in vivo-like drug response. In addition, image analysis was used successfully for the first time to automatically discriminate cancer colonies from contaminating fibroblastic cells by taking advantage of the difference in shape between them after cultivation to determine the drug response of cultured cancer cells accurately and easily. A new approach for the practical use of the drug sensitivity test on human cancer cells is suggested.