Growth of lung cancer colonies from bronchoscopy washings

Cells from bronchoscopy washings from 30 patients with lung cancer were plated in tissue culture using a human tumor stem cell assay technique. These culture results were subsequently compared to routine cytology readings carried out on the same specimens. The stem cell culture showed colony growth from 9 of 11 cytologically positive bronchoscopy washing specimens. More colonies grew from cytologically positive specimens (average of six colonies per plate) than from cytologically negative specimens (average of 0.8 colonies per plate). With additional refinements, the stem cell culture system could be used to improve the diagnostic yield of bronchoscopy washings. However, at present, the low number of tumor colonies grown from the washings precludes performing chemosensitivity studies on tumor cells from the bronchoscopy washing specimens.