Brain Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Brain Cancer, including details on symptoms, benign and malignant tumors, gliomas, treatment.

Tumor cells from ultrasonic aspirations of glioblastomas migrate and form spheres with radial outgrowth.

Beckner ME, Jane EP, Jankowitz B, Agostino NR, Walter KA, Hamilton RL, Pollack IF

Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. becknerme@upmc.edu

Studies of primary cells from malignant brain tumors such as glioblastomas are limited by the small size of surgically resected specimens. However, glioblastomas are also frequently debulked via ultrasonic aspiration. In this study, we examined the functional competence and growth of their aspirated cells. Cells from minced tissue and aspirations were comparable in migration, formation of pseudopodia, development of cellular spheres with radial outgrowth, and neuroectodermal features. Cultures were maintained for more than six weeks without fibroblastic overgrowth. Our observations show that ultrasonically aspirated specimens contain cells useful for studies of tumor migration and growth of tumorspheres.

Published 13 August 2007 in Cancer Lett, 255(1): 135-44.
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