Growth and magnetic resonance characteristics of human squamous cell carcinoma xenografts implanted with cells suspended in Matrigel.

Growth and magnetic resonance characteristics of a human squamous cell carcinoma SQ20B were studied in vivo as xenografts in nu/nu nude mice. Tumor cells injected subcutaneously in the flank using either Matrigel (MTG, an extract of basement membrane proteins) or growth medium (GM) as a vehicle were compared. Much higher tumor growth rates and cell density were observed with Matrigel than with GM implantation. Histology also showed that MTG implanted cells grew as vascularized solid tumors compared to GM tumors which formed cysts. As a result of increased cell density with the improved method, tumors as small as 0.3 cm3 provide high S/N magnetic resonance spectra which yield smaller standard deviations with fewer experiments.