Clonogenic in vitro growth and histologic grading of primary human breast tumors

We determined the relationship of clonogenic in vitro growth and histopathologic features of 31 primary human breast tumors. Well-differentiated primary tumors formed fewer colonies than poorly differentiated tumors, and the clonogenic in vitro growth of tumors correlated inversely with patient survival. The potential of the clonogenic assay to serve as a predictor of disease course should be explored further.