An improved method for calculating colony forming ability in soft agar with special reference to malignancy.

Abstract

We examined the correlation between the tumorigenicity and the growth capacity in soft agar of various malignant cell lines. The colony forming rates were calculated in (a) 0%, (b) 0.15%, (c) 0.30%, and (d) 0.40% soft agar medium. An approximate value for the colony forming capacity, ‘y’, was then established for the formula\(y = \frac{1}{a}\int_0^a {f(x) dx} \) (x=concentration of soft agar, f(x)=rate of appearance of colony forming cells with x% soft agar medium).