Characterization of the T61 human breast carcinoma established in nude mice.

This paper gives a biological characterization of the T61 human breast carcinoma established in nude mice. The human origin of the tumour was verified by the demonstration of the presence of human chromosomes exclusively in the tumour cells. The tumour cells were found by chromosome analysis and flow cytometric DNA analysis to be aneuploid. By electron microscopy, the tumour cells were shown to display the characteristics of glandular epithelium; a light microscopic examination revealed morphological characteristics similar to those of an axillary metastasis of the patient from whom the T61 tumour was derived. Furthermore, the tumour was shown to contain classical receptors for oestrogen and progesterone. The growth of the tumour was characterized by gompertzian growth curves. Since the T61 tumour has a response pattern to endocrine treatment which differs from that described for other human breast tumours grown in nude mice, this tumour may provide a valuable supplement in the study of human breast cancer and endocrine treatment.