Clonal growth of metastatic carcinoma of bronchus in bone marrow culture.

Bone marrow cells from a 35-yr-old male with small cell anaplastic carcinoma of the bronchus and bone marrow metastases were cultured in semisolid agar. Numerous small clones grew in the cultures, with a similar gross appearance to clones produced by cell from a proportion of patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Examination of the cells from these clones by electron microscopy revealed marked differences between these cells and cells grown in cultures from normal and acute myeloid leukemia marrow. This suggests that metastatic cells of the anaplastic carcinoma of the bronchus grew in clones in the agar culture system.