An enzymatic method for the consistent production of monodispersed viable cell suspensions from human solid tumors

An enzymatic method is described for disaggregation of viable tumor cells from human solid tumors. The enzymatic cocktail consists of 0.1% collagenase, 0.01% hyaluronidase, and 0.002% deoxyribonuclease. After mechanical mincing of the tumor tissue, tumor specimens are dissociated by incubation in the enzymatic cocktail for 12-18 hours at room temperature. In 17 cases of sarcoma, the mean yield was 5 X 10(6) viable cells per gram tumor tissue. Yield was 1 X 10(7) viable cells per gram tumor tissue in 23 cases of gastrointestinal carcinoma. The viabilities of tumor cell suspensions ranged from 50 to 98%, except for low viabilities in four specimens that were grossly composed almost entirely of necrotic tissue. The dissociation procedure is simple and the viable cell yield is sufficient for applications in studies of human cancer immunobiology.