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Review
. 2003;5(2):89-95.
doi: 10.1186/bcr577. Epub 2003 Feb 3.

Breast cancer cell lines: friend or foe?

Sarah E Burdall  1 , Andrew M Hanby, Mark R J Lansdown, Valerie Speirs
Affiliations
Review

Breast cancer cell lines: friend or foe?

Sarah E Burdall et al. Breast Cancer Res. 2003.

Abstract

The majority of breast cancer research is conducted using established breast cancer cell lines as in vitro models. An alternative is to use cultures established from primary breast tumours. Here, we discuss the pros and cons of using both of these models in translational breast cancer research.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Breast tissue dispersal.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Morphological appearance of the three cell fractions following differential centrifugation followed by culture in selective medium. (a) Organoid fraction. The arrow illustrates a fragment of partially digested tumour that attaches to the substrate of the culture vessel and from which cells with an epithelial-like morphology migrate radially and proliferate. (b) Epithelial fraction. (c) Stromal fraction consisting of fibroblasts. Scale bar = 15 μm.
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