title: Cell invasiveness in sarcomas: a possibly useful clinical correlation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prognosis of each individual patient affected by sarcoma, including those with low histopathologic grading, cannot be reliably predicted at the time of surgery. We have developed an in vitro cell invasion assay on early primary cell cultures derived from surgically removed sarcomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary cell cultures were subjected to in vitro cell invasion assays by using Boyden chambers, filters coated with matrigel and fetal bovine serum as a source of chemoattractant. For each primary cell culture, the sarcoma cell invasion index was determined in comparison with the percentage of human fibrosarcoma HT1080 cell invasion extent. The cell invasion index of 7 different sarcomas was evaluated in respect to the outcome of the disease, after a follow-up ranging from 14 to 48 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data evidenced that a low cell invasion index (39.7% +/- 8.9) was retained by tumor cells derived from patients with no progression of the disease and with a longer interval of disease-free survival (21 +/- 0.8 months). However, an increase in cell invasion index (61% +/- 5) was retained by tumor cells derived from patients with progression of the disease and with a shorter disease-free survival (9 +/- 3 months). Overall, although only 7 cases were analyzed, a statistically significant correlation was found between disease-free survival and cell invasion index (P = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data support the possibility that cell invasion assays performed in vitro on cells derived from human sarcomas may be predictive of a more aggressive form of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Oncology, National Cancer Institute of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bifulco
authors.forename: Annarosaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Chiara
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fazioli
authors.forename: Immacolata
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Longanesi-Cattani
authors.forename: Anna Rita
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Cantelmo
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tirino
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Apice
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rocco
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.forename: Maria Vincenza
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Carriero
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology; D003094:Collagen; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D005350:Fibroma / Q000473:pathology; D005354:Fibrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007797:Laminin; D018208:Liposarcoma, Myxoid / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011509:Proteoglycans; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D007797:Laminin; D011509:Proteoglycans; C059485:matrigel; D003094:Collagen