[The morphogenetic potentials of endometrial and ovarian tumor cells when cultured on soft agar]. / Morfogeneticheskie potentsii kletok opukholei éndometriia i iaichnikov pri kul'tivirovanii v miagkom agare.

Morphofunctional peculiarities of tumor cells from 15 endometrial adenocarcinomas and 2 ovarian tumors have been investigated at the ultrastructural level. These cells could develop two types of colonies in soft agar: those with histotypical differentiation (numerous microvilli, well developed tight junctions, desmosomes, secretory granules), and those without it (absence of epithelial features, ability of tumor cells to produce filamentous extracellular matrix and striated collagen fibrils which are characteristic of fibroblastic cells). The addition of progesterone and tamoxifen to cell cultures resulted in rising the level of cell differentiation in the colonies. The fact that endometrial and ovarian cancer cells can express the properties specific of connective tissue cells may suggest a multipotention of the Mullerian epithelium derivatives to shed light on the histogenesis of the mixed Mullerian tumors of uterus.

[An electron microscopic study of the behavioral characteristics of human lung tumor cells cultured on soft agar]. / Elektronno-mikroskopicheskoe issledovanie osobennostei povedeniia kletok opukholei legkogo cheloveka, kul'tiviruemykh v miagkom agare.

The ultrastructure of cells from seven human lung cancers and from the colonies formed by these cells in soft agar was investigated. Tumor cells developed to display the morphofunctional potentials of the initial tumors. Cultured cells of squamous-cell carcinomas contained numerous tonofilaments, those of adenocarcinomas developed microvilli on their apical surfaces and intracellular lumens. On the other hand, cells of squamous-cell carcinomas showed features specific of adenoma epithelium, i.e. well developed microvilli and intracellular lumens. Besides, cells of adenocarcinoma often contained large quantities of tonofilaments considered to be characteristic of epidermoid epithelium. The results obtained suggest a possibility of metaplastic transformation of the lung epithelium.

[The potential and actual growth rate of breast cancer]. / Potentsial'naia i fakticheskaia skorost' rosta raka molochnoi zhelezy.

Potential and actual rates of tumor growth were assayed in 13 patients with primary breast cancer. Potential growth rate was calculated according to proliferative activity as assessed by histoautoradiography whereas actual growth--on the basis of changes in tumor size observed on mammograms obtained through the course of the disease. Actual tumor doubling time proved 22.8 times longer (which means that tumors grew slower) than that suggested by proliferative activity. Cell loss at the average rate of 95.5% proved the main reason accounting for the difference. The proliferative activity in regional lymph node metastases measured in 3 patients simultaneously with the primary tumor assay was 3.9 times higher.

[Effects of hyperbaric oxygenation on tumor growth]. / Vliianie giperbaricheskoi oksigenatsii na opukholevyi rost.

The study failed to show a stimulating effect of hyperbaric oxygen on growth and metastatic spreading of sarcoma 37 transplanted subcutaneously or intravenously to female SHR mice, melanoma B16 intramuscularly transplanted to female C57/Bl mice and methylcholanthrene-induced tumors in female albino noninbred rats. An insignificant inhibitory effect of hyperbaric oxygen on transplantable tumor growth and development of inducible ones in experimental animals was observed.