Establishment of a Primary Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma Cell Line

BACKGROUND Anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma is an aggressively growing, malignant, and eventually fatal tumor of the central nervous system. Testing chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity under in vitro conditions would be a useful strategy to determine sensitive or resistant drugs for fatal brain cancers. OBJECTIVE To establish primary cell cultures of excised tumor tissue from pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma–bearing patients and to test their sensitivity against various anticancer chemotherapy drugs. METHODS Prepared suspensions of the excised tumor tissue from a patient who had a recurrent grade 3 pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma was cultured in culture dishes until cells began to grow. Immunofluorescent and immunohistochemical visualizations were performed using confocal and light microscopy. MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay in comparison with 3H-thymidine incorporation assay was used to test cellular toxicity of several anticancer drugs. RESULTS We established vigorously growing primary cells of the tumor. Drug sensitivity testing was conducted successfully. CONCLUSION Primary cell cultures of surgically removed tumor tissues may be useful in studies of cancer biology and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity for recurrent malignant brain tumors, particularly for anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma.