Morphologic analysis of three-dimensional tumors developed in fibrin matrix and agar culture system.

The three-dimensional growth of cultured tumor cell lines (HT29, a colon adenocarcinoma cell line; M21, a melanoma cell line; KB, a nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line) has been investigated in an agar culture system with a fibrin matrix in vitro. The tumor cells developed to tumors 3 x 3 mm in diameter after 10 days in culture in vitro. This size was large enough to allow histologic examination. The tumor cells located in the surface area of the three-dimensional tumor seemed to grow well. However, the tumor cells in the center degenerated or did not proliferate, indicating a lack of nutrition and/or anoxia in the center. The histologic comparison between the xenografted tumors on nude mice and the three-dimensional tumors in vitro suggests that the structures of the three-dimensional tumors were comparable, especially in the surface area, to the xenografted tumors. Furthermore, the antitumor effect of mitomycin C on the three-dimensional tumors was found to be dose-dependent.