Establishment and characterization of colon carcinoma and renal cell carcinoma primary cultures

Patients with metastatic renal and colon carcinoma have a very poor prognosis. In many cases, the tumor recurs after surgical excision and chemotherapy. Therefore, it might be beneficial for cancer patients to induce an immune attack against the tumor by inserting a cytokine gene into the tumor cells. Here, two different techniques for isolation of single tumor cells were compared. An enzymatic solution was superior to an EDTA/DTT isolation solution for establishing tumor primary cultures. In total, 18 primary cell cultures could be established from 68 patients with colon and renal cell carcinoma. Cells were further characterized concerning fibroblast contamination, cell proliferation and HLA-typing. These primary tumor cells might be of value for cytokine gene transfer and in vaccination protocols for cancer patients.