An in vitro assay for clonogenic tumor cells was applied to human metastatic melanomas. Melanoma colony formation was observed in 22 of 33 samples obtained from a variety of involved tissues. The melanocytic tumor origin of colonies was established by serial observations by inverted light microscopy, staining of fixed colonies for melanin, and cytological and karyotypic analysis of cells within colonies. Two morphologically distinct types of colonies were identified, one consisting of light large cells and the second of dark small cells. Investigations of factors which modulate growth and differentiation of clonogenic melanoma cells may provide a clearer understanding of this neoplasm.

中文翻译：

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人转移性黑色素瘤细胞的体外克隆测定。

将克隆形成性肿瘤细胞的体外测定应用于人类转移性黑色素瘤。从各种受累组织中获得的33个样品中有22个观察到黑色素瘤菌落形成。菌落的黑素细胞瘤起源是通过倒置光学显微镜的连续观察，黑色素固定菌落的染色以及菌落内细胞的细胞学和核型分析确定的。确定了两种形态上不同的菌落，一种由浅色大细胞组成，另一种由深色小细胞组成。对调节克隆性黑色素瘤细胞生长和分化的因素的研究可能提供对该肿瘤的更清晰的了解。