Technique for the primary culture of human breast cancer cells and measurement of their prostaglandin secretion

1. A method is described for the primary culture of human breast tumour cells on feeder layers of the STO mouse embryo fibroblast cell line.

2. The secretion of the prostaglandins E₂ and F_2α from the cells was measured and the results indicate that the secretion of both prostaglandins was dependent on oestrogen-receptor status, with cells from oestrogen-receptor-positive tumours secreting significantly more prostaglandin than cells from oestrogen-receptor-negative tumours.

3. Postaglandin E₂, but not prostaglandin F_2α, secretion was also significantly greater from cells of tumours from postmenopausal women than from cells of tumours from premenopausal women. Small (< 3 cm) tumours secreted significantly more prostaglandin than large (> 3 cm) tumours, and increased levels of prostaglandin were secreted with advancing clinical stage (T₁-T₄).

4. Additional evidence for increased prostaglandin metabolism in oestrogen-receptor-positive tumours compared with oestrogen-receptor-negative tumours was obtained from studies on the uptake of [¹⁴C]arachidonic acid from the cultures. Significantly more labelled arachidonic acid was incorporated into cells from oestrogen-receptor-positive tumours compared with oestrogen-receptor-negative tumours, with the subsequent release of more prostaglandin in response to various stimuli.