Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common types of tumour, especially in Asia and Africa (Anderson et al, 1992;Okuda, 1992;Parkin et al, 1993). HCC is characterized by extensive carcinoma cell infiltration and metastasis. Although advances have been made in liver cancer therapies, most cancer deaths still result from metastatic disease, so metastasis has been the greatest obstacle to successful tumour treatment. The poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for the disseminated metastasis, which would be partly due to the lack of ideal samples and models for study, has hindered the development of effective antimetastatic therapies. Although several reports of the establishment of HCC cell lines were available (Chen, 1963;Alexander et al, 1976;Dong et al, 1980), none have demonstrated prominent metastatic potential. The human cell line with a metastatic potential from primary tumour or metastatic lesions would permit metastatic mechanisms to be studied further. However, the cancer cells from the surgical samples or metastatic lesions can only be maintained in primary culture for a short time before cellular senescence occurs. The aim of this study was to establish a human HCC cell line with a metastatic potential. We successfully established a new HCC cell line with a highly metastatic potential derived from subcutaneous xenograft of a metastatic model of human HCC in nude mice (LCI-D20) (Sun et al, 1996) by improving the conventional method of establishing a cell line -alternating cell culture in vivo and growth in nude mice. In this paper the processes of establishing a new human HCC cell line MHCC97 and some characteristics, including observation of some factors associated with metastasis, are reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS Specimens and in vitro cultureSeventy-eight primary cultures were taken from subcutaneous or intrahepatic xenografts of LCI-D20 nude mouse models. The model was developed by orthotopic inoculation of an intact tumour tissue of an intrahepatic disseminated lesion from a 39-year-old Chinese male patient with HCC (Zhong-Shan Hospital, Shanghai Medical University). Abnormal alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and HBsAg were found in serum from this patient. The LCI-D20 model represents 100% metastases to the lungs, lymph nodes and intrahepatic spreading (Sun, 1996). These xenografts were removed and used for primary culture in vitro by different culture methods (tissue fragments or single-cell Summary A new human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line with a highly metastatic potential was established from subcutaneous xenograft of a metastatic model of human HCC in nude mice (LCI-D20) by means of alternating cell culture in vitro and growth in nude mice. The line, designated MHCC97, has been cultivated for 18 months and subcultured for more than 90 passages. The line was showed to be of human origin by karyotype analysis. The cells were either grown as compact colonies (in clusters) or as a monolayered sheet with about 31 h of population-doubling time, exhibited ty...

The poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was partly a result of the majority of unresectable HCCs in clinical patients. Fortunately, with the progress of regional cancer therapies and multimodality treatment, some of the localized unresectable HCCs were converted to resectable ones. During the period 1960-1994, 72 of the 663 patients with surgically verified unresectable HCCs have been converted to resectable. Successful cytoreduction with median diameter reduced from 10 cm to 5 cm was mainly a result of the triple or double combination treatment with hepatic artery ligation, hepatic artery cannulation with infusion, radioimmunotherapy, and fractionated regional radiotherapy. The interval between the first operation and the sequential resection was 5 months. The operative mortality was 1.4% for sequential resection, and the 5-year survival was 62.1%. Analysis of factor influencing sequential resection rate revealed HCCs that were single nodule, well encapsulated, situated at right lobe or hepatic hilum, associated with micronodular cirrhosis, and treated with triple or double combination modalities had higher sequential resection rate as compared to their counterparts. Analysis of factors influencing survival after sequential resection revealed that HCCs with a solitary tumor confined in one lobe, without tumor embolus, and without residual cancer in specimen of sequential resection, had longer survival. It is suggested that localized unresectable, solitary, well encapsulated, right lobe or hilar HCC, associated with micronodular cirrhosis, will be good candidates for cytoreduction and sequential resection; and HCCs with unilateral involvement, without tumor embolus, and with complete necrosis of tumor after multimodality treatment favored better prognosis.