CYTOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF 39 PROSTATE CARCINOMAS AND EVALUATION OF SHORT-TERM TISSUE-CULTURE TECHNIQUES

Karyotypic analysis was performed on 102 prostate cancer specimens whi ch were obtained through radical prostatectomy, transurethral resectio n, or regional lymph node dissection. Short term tissue culture Mas ap plied in all cases. Of the media and growth factors evaluated, F12/DME M, supplemented with 2% fetal calf serum, insulin, epidermal growth fa ctor, hydrocortisone, and cholera toxin produced the largest increase of in vitro proliferation. Such in vitro cultured cells were all pheno typically acinar epithelial cells, the supposed targets far neoplastic transformation. Stromal cell growth appeared to be completely suppres sed. Of the three culture techniques investigated, the method develope d in Lund, Sweden, was the most successful: 11/15 cultures yielded met aphases and, in three of these, clonal aberrations were identified. Al l 39 karyotypes obtained essentially had a 46,XY karyotype with clonal aberrations (eight cases) and/or nonclonal aberrations (30 cases). Cl onal structural aberrations involved 2p, 3q, 11p, 17p, and 21q. The cl onal numerical aberrations found were: +8, +dmin, and -Y. The most fre quently observed nonclonal aberrations were 8p deletions (five cases) and loss of 6, 7, 8, 15, 17, 18, 21, and/or Y (greater than or equal t o five cases). In summary, clonal aberrations were observed in 20% of the evaluable PC cell cultures, and nonclonal aberrations in 77%. So, although diploid cells without clonal abnormalities still had a growth advantage, under optimal conditions PC cells were able to proliferate in primary in vitro culture. (C) Elsevier Science Inc., 1998.