IN VITRO TISSUE CULTURE STUDY ON GIANT CELL TUMOR OF BONE

In vitro tissue culture of 22 giant cell tumors(GCTs) of the bone in 19 cases was undertaken.Primary growth was successful in all.11 wereGrade Ⅰ tumors,10 Grade Ⅱ and 1 Grade Ⅲ.The average survival of the 3 grades of GCTswas in order 167.3,219 and 625 days.Of these,6 were postoperative recurrent GCTs,their lifespan ranging from 198 to 625 days.It is apparentthat the higher the pathologic grade of GCT,thelonger the survival of cultured cells.Recurringtumors also manifested more active growth po-tential.This lends support to the view that theexisting pathologic grading remains valuable forclinical reference.Multinucleated giant cell usually survived 3weeks,occasionally 3 months.Growth of thestromal cells maintained from 5 weeks to 8months.The circumstantial evidence indicatesthat the stromal cells,not the giant cells,shouldbe considered as the offending neoplastic invader.