A comparison of three routes of inoculation for testing tumorigenicity of cell lines in nude mice

Abstract

The sensitivity of three different routes of transplantation of a clone of the human colon adenocarcinoma WiDr cell line was examined in adult nude mice. The IM route proved to be the most sensitive. In spite of the comparatively high tumorigenic potential of the clone and the homogeneity of the cell population, a high percentage of ‘takes’ was obtained only after transplantation with not less than 10 5 cells. For this type of tumor cell, the IC route proved to be the least effective. The possible influence of inadequate stroma accounting for the poor growth of the IC tumors is discussed.